Inheritance
by WeiXiao
Summary: The Anti-Grimm Punitive Force, otherwise known as God Eaters, are among the most elite group of fighters that combat Grimm. Most of them are still students, all of them orphans, and some have their personal issues, like the leader of Team ACGN (Acorn), Arthur Visconti has with his Semblance. Technically a xover (reason for not having that label will be explained in first chapter).
1. Prologue

**There's nothing quite like starting a show then realizing that it would make for a good crossover with a video game series that you've been playing. In this case, RWBY and God Eater. I mean, look at it! They have a ton in common.**

 **Weapons that can shift form? Check.**

 **Monsters that prey on people? Check.**

 **People that hunt those monsters for a living? Check.**

 **Evil people bent on utilizing said monsters for their own nefarious ends? Ok, kind of check. God Eater doesn't exactly have as much of that, though there is some of it.**

 **But hey, they have a bunch in common. And Blood Powers in God Eater 2 can just as easily be replaced with Semblances.**

 **On another note, the big reason I don't stick this story in the crossover section is because I'm taking elements mainly from GE2 and Fanfiction doesn't have a GE2 page. I'm aware of the existence of the GEB page, I just don't like how small it is (which is slightly hypocritical given that one of my biggest stories is for Aldnoah Zero, which also has a small fanfiction base). While I will be including characters and monsters from GE2RB (including the main character from my only Ao3 story, with the Blood Unit post-GE2 story being the main group in this one), the main elements are still majorly RWBY in nature. Ages will be changed around a bit to fit in with the story.**

 **I also admittedly hate using the crossover label because of how it forces people to actually search for the story instead of just dropping it on the main page's lap so others can enjoy/hate it to their heart's content.**

 **Pairings among RWBY cast to be determined. Romance isn't exactly the focus of this story.**

 **Anyway, enjoy the story.**

* * *

"So, we start our term at Beacon next week, right?" The young man asked as he walked down the street.

"I don't know why Dr. Rachel sent us all the way out here. Wouldn't it have been easier to send us to Atlas Academy like she did with Julius, Livie, and Romeo?" A taller guy walked down the street next to him.

"Gil, we all know you hate restrictive protocol. And Atlas has like, the most restrictive protocol ever. Besides, we're in Vale now, so we might as well enjoy it, shouldn't we?" A girl next to him smiled, all chipper.

"Indeed. This city certainly seems to buzz with an energy that is sorely lacking in Atlas." The last girl, more mature and with white hair, said as she walked by them.

The first boy turned to the last girl. "I'm surprised you decided to come here with us, Ciel. I thought General Ironwood would have you go to Atlas Academy. You are his adoptive daughter, after all."

"Arthur's right. What's up with that? I thought you would stay at the general's side. You always did respect him." The taller guy pointed out.

"Gil, I think the bigger question here is why Arthur's here as well. I thought he'd want to stay in Atlas with Yuno. They are dating, after all." The chipper girl said with a slight giggle.

Some color tinged Arthur's face. "Nana, did you really have to ask? Yuno's going on her tour soon."

"Oh yeah…" Nana deflated a bit before perking back up. "But why did we come out here and not some other school?"

Arthur sighed. "Well, Dr. Rachel said that she wanted us to train under Professor Ozpin's wing for a while. Plus, it's a nice way to get out from under all the 'Julius' level expectations that people stick on me."

"And as Arthur's best friend, it's my obligation to always have his back; to make sure that he becomes one of the strongest huntsman possible." Ciel finished.

Arthur looked over at Ciel blankly. "Ciel, I don't think someone with a Semblance designed to give everyone around me a permanent boost to ability is going to become one of the strongest huntsman ever. I mean, sure, we all have similar skill levels, but your Semblances have something to do with combat. I'm just the person that got you guys there."

One of Arthur's great flaws came in the form of his inferiority complex. While it wasn't obvious to that many people, those who knew Arthur well knew that it came from his brother Julius's achievements. While Julius made everything look easy, Arthur had to work hard to attain anything. It was at moments like this that Arthur would start brooding.

Fortunately, his friends knew exactly what to say, given how many times it had happened before.

"Uh huh. Says the person who's been on Pumpkin Pete's Cereal Box at least three times." Nana deadpanned. "I mean, sure Pyrrha Nikos has been featured on it more recently, but come on! You're great even without taking your Semblance into account."

Gil supplemented his opinion. "Nana's right. We wouldn't be here today without you. Besides, you're plenty strong by yourself. Forget about what Julius has done; you're your own person. You made your way here."

Arthur smiled a bit, mood lightened a bit. "Thanks, guys. I feel a bit better now— Whoa!"

Arthur tripped out of the blue, colliding with the ground face first.

"Arthur! Are you okay?!" Nana asked.

"Ow… I'll be fine. It's not like this the first time I've tripped."

Gil seemed a bit confused. "I still don't get how you, a guy who's athletic and enjoys dancing, still manage to trip over nothing on a regular day-to-day basis."

"Bite me, Gil."

"While I would like to input my opinion, I must interrupt you all. There's a group of men that's been following us for a while now." Ciel cut in.

"Did they start following us when we turned into the dark alleyway?" Arthur asked, face gone serious.

Ciel nodded. "They took the bait."

"Strength level?"

"Minimal."

Gil and Nana's faces shifted a bit. "Orders, captain?"

Arthur's hand flurried a bit, going from four fingers to two fingers to one finger. Getting the message, the group turned into a building that was empty, with the gangsters following them into it. When the gangsters got in, they were very much surprised to find nothing in their sights. Then all hell broke loose.

* * *

Ruby Rose was walking down the street when she heard the law enforcement run past. Following the noises, she ended up in front of a building where a group of 4 were talking with one of the officers.

"Thank you for responding so quickly to our call. We were not sure how long we would have to wait for authorities to arrive." A white-haired girl in a dress and corset bowed to the officer.

The officer looked abashed. "No, it's thanks to you guys that we were even able to apprehend these people in the first place. They've been bothering the local populace for a while, so it was good that you guys caught them. You can come by the office later for their bounty."

A young man with dark blond hair spoke up next. "That won't be necessary. We were just doing our jobs as huntsmen and huntresses-in-training. I would stay and talk some more, but we've already given our witness accounts and everything, so we need to get going. We're on a bit of a schedule."

"Sure, go on ahead! We can clean up here. Thanks for everything!"

As the group left, Ruby noticed something peculiar about them. It wasn't the way they walked, or how they acted. Rather, it was their weapons that they were putting in their bags. It took her a second because none of the weapons looked that similar, but when it finally settled in, she understood what she was looking at right away.

"God Arcs!" The next thing the group knew, Ruby was in front of them, taking a closer look at the weapons. "Omigosh I've always wanted to see a God Arc up close!"

The person at front looked at the rest of his friends before turning back to Ruby, eyebrow raised. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

"Oh, right. I'm Ruby Rose, huntress-in-training extraordinaire! I'll be attending Beacon Academy two years early!"

"Huh. That's really impressive." The guy extended his hand in greeting. "I'm Arthur Visconti, pleasure to meet you."

"Ciel Alencon."

"Gilbert McLane."

"And Nana Kozuki! It's so good to meet you."

Ruby was taken by surprise for a couple seconds. "Um, right. Can I see your God Arc though?"

Arthur seemed hesitant for a second. "Can I ask why?"

"Well… I've always been interested in weapons, and I've read all about God Arcs, but I've never gotten to see them up close before. You guys are God Eaters, right?"

"Yes, we are. But the thing with God Arc's is that they're volatile."

Ruby was confused. "How are they volatile? They're weapons, right?"

"What do you know about God Arcs, miss Rose?" Ciel asked.

Ruby's eyes lit up. "Members and trainees of the Anti-Grimm Punitive Force, otherwise known as God Eaters, all bear weapons known as God Arcs. The invention of Dr. Rachel Claudius, God Arcs are unique in how they are constructed, for which the process is very much a secret. What is known is that all God Arcs begin with cores, which are created by solidifying the aura of the user. From there, the core can be fitted with all sorts of equipment, though they usually follow the trend of a blade component, a gun component, and a shield component. All of this is up to the personal customization of the user.

The reason that God Arcs are superior to other weapons is because unlike other weapons that might run out of charge or rely on dust, God Arcs never go dry. While the abilities of God Arcs can be increased with dust, it's not necessary to using it. God Arcs respond to the wills of their users, as they absorb aura from the user. While this might normally be a problem, part of the damage caused by God Arcs in combat is absorbed by the weapon and used to replenish the user's aura. In other words, a God Eater and his God Arc have a symbiotic relationship. It's this reason that allows a God Eater to theoretically never run out of aura. The higher the compatibility between a God Arc and its user, the higher the performance.

Due to the difficulty in creating God Arcs, there are only thirteen in existence, though many prototypes exist as well."

Nana's eyes bugged out. "Wow. She knows even more than I do."

Arthur ignored Nana, mainly because he knew why Nana didn't know as much. "You memorized the entry in the most recent 'Weapon Collector' article, didn't you?"

"Mhmm. How'd you know?" Ruby looked proud of herself.

"I wrote that article." Gilbert answered her question.

"Oh. Ohhhhh. So that's how you know. But why are God Arcs so volatile?"

Gilbert shook his head. "God Arcs are dangerous weapons. And not in the sense that every weapon is dangerous. A God Arc is almost sentient in nature, bonding with a user that is compatible. Unlike regular weapons, only the original person that it bonds with can use it. God Arcs are kind of like living beings. They don't like it if anyone besides their original users touch them. Anyone else who tries to wield will find themselves unable to create a bond with the weapon. Instead, the weapon will just drain you away until you're gasping for breath."

Ruby jumped back a couple feet, freaked out by the new information, eyeing the bags with disappointment.

"But, if it makes you feel any better, you can still look. Just don't touch it. I'll even change its forms if you want." Arthur pulled out his God Arc again.

Ruby's eyes became stars. "Can I really?!"

Ciel sighed. "Arthur…"

"Oh relax, Ciel. It'll probably only take a couple minutes at best."

* * *

"-and that's how I got held up for almost an hour." Arthur scratched the back of his head nervously.

A giggle came from the girl onscreen, who was currently unbraiding her hair to settle in for the night. "It's not like you to be late for our weekly call, Arthur."

Arthur chuckled. "What can I say? She was insistent. But really, I'm sorry for being so late to our call, Yuno. I promise I'll make it up somehow."

Yuno Ashihara smiled from the other side of the screen. "Don't worry about it, Arthur. Just take your time. Besides, there'll be more calls in the future. How about we leave it for now and I think of something later?"

Of the things that made Arthur smile, none did it quite like Yuno. The girl had appeared in his life back when he first developed his minor, but noticeable inferiority complex. She had been a blessing, listening to him and giving him advice. He, in turn, had loved how her eyes lit up whenever she talked about her travels. When he asked her why she chose to be an idol, she had told him. "I don't have much besides my voice, but if I can help to raise awareness by singing, it's the best thing I can do." The day Arthur asked her out was one of the happiest for both of them.

Arthur smiled. "I think that'll do. Thanks, Yuno. So how's the tour coming along?"

Yuno's eyes sparked. As she started talking about her trip to Vacuo, Arthur listened intently, not missing even a single detail.

Had anyone else been in the room to witness this moment, they would have known that the two of them were perfect for one another. Little did they know, Nana, Ciel, and Gilbert all stood right outside with a smile, with another person listening through scroll. They could say what they wanted, but going to Beacon was the smartest move. It was rare to have Arthur smile so much in a day.

* * *

 **So I finally started watching more RWBY recently, and I have to say I'm really enjoying it.**

 **I also found this to be a perfect opportunity to try and apply a couple pieces of advice I got regarding storywriting. Also helps me to take a break after classes, so it's a win-win situation for me.**

 **The one difficult thing I'll have to work with is the fact that the there's no reliable website that has a list of all the God Arcs in GE2RB. I'll probably have to make do with uploading pictures at some point or another.**

 **Other than that, I also decided to try something new (for those of you who know me) and add character profiles at the end of each chapter to try and give the story more filling. Here's the first one, featuring this story's protagonist, Arthur Visconti.**

* * *

 **Name: Arthur Visconti**

 **Age: 17**

 **Eye Color: Green**

 **Hair Color: Dark Blond**

 **Height: 5'9**

 **Likes: Sewing, knitting, dancing, sports, noodles in soup, oranges**

 **Dislikes: Bullies, spring (the season), mushrooms, apples, pickles**

 **Equipment: God Arc – Long Sword, Blast Cannon, Tower Shield**

 **Semblance: Evoke – The ability to unlock another's potential.**

 **Combat Description: Despite his self-esteem issues, Arthur is by far the most skilled fighter among his friends. He works effectively as a leader and can make tactical calls on the fly. As part of a team, Arthur works as a middleman, switching between ranged and melee attacks based on what's needed, though he usually works more often with the frontline.**

 **Trivia:**

 **Has appeared on Pumpkin Pete's cereal box in the past, though nowhere near as often as Pyrrha Nikos.**

 **Is acquainted with, but not friends with Weiss Schnee as their families are of the upper class.**

 **He and his older brother Julius were adopted by Dr. Rachel Claudius back when they were little.**


	2. Chapter 1

**So, I spent a couple days fleshing out elements for the story and while I was at it and watching the most recent episode as well as rewatching some older episodes, I realized that resurrection was theoretically possible. Probably won't be utilizing it though, as it kind of is a deus ex machina.**

* * *

"Five times. How you manage to trip five times in a single ride baffles me. It is almost as if you do it on purpose. How does this keep happening?" Ciel stated as she looked at Arthur, who had given up on trying to stand while in the airship and was sitting on the ground.

Arthur groaned, still sore from falling again. "I ask myself that same question every day, Ciel."

"Well, on the bright side, you can't fall down if you're already sitting down. Don't you agree, Nana?" Gil asked.

The group looked over at their last team member, who was busy taking in the sights from the airship.

"I think we lost her." Arthur commented with a chuckle. Granted, they knew this was going to happen the moment they got onboard. Nana loved flying. Well, more specifically, she loved the view whenever they were in the air.

"Really though, how does someone like you master Visconti swordsmanship? That thing requires perfect balance, and you have literally no sense of balance at all." Gil asked, still somewhat confused.

Arthur blinked then gave Gil a stare.

"That one's on your 'list of questions you don't know will ever be answered', isn't it?"

Arthur nodded. "Yep. Along with the question of 'why do some faunuses have two sets of ears and which do they hear from?', 'why is Nana literally half of our food budget?' and 'how does Dr. Rachel always manage to get up the stairs in the orphanage when she's in a wheelchair?'"

"Yeah, I don't get that last one. Does her wheelchair have some sort of adhesive on it?" Gil asked.

"Honestly? I don't know. It seems like a regular wheelchair to me. It doesn't even leave anything sticky on the floor when she rolls around." Arthur was deep in thought.

"I must admit, I am also curious as to the phenomenon that is Dr. Rachel's wheelchair." Ciel spoke as well.

"Did none of you ask her?" Gil asked.

Arthur shook his head. "All she did was laugh and give me a smile as if I knew. I still don't know."

The three of them thought about this for a while until Arthur noticed a liquid slowly creeping its way to him. "Guys, please tell me that's not what I think it is.

"It is." Gil answered with a resigned sigh. "Here, I'll help you up."

"Much obliged, Gil."

They spent the rest of the trip avoiding the vomit on the floor. Arthur couldn't help but feel pity for the guy who was clearly getting airsick.

* * *

When they made it into the main building, Ciel noticed something and proceeded to get Arthur's attention. After getting it, she pointed over at an individual. "We'll go save you a spot."

Arthur had to do a double-take to be sure his eyes weren't deceiving him. Sure enough, Pyrrha Nikos was standing right there. It was at that moment that Pyrrha also looked in his direction, her eyes widening in surprise as well.

"Arthur Visconti? I haven't seen you since the last Mistral Regional Tournament. What are you doing here?"

The two of them were well-acquainted from previous encounters in tournaments. While Arthur was from Atlas, there were no meaningful competitions there that he was eligible for. So, he did the next best thing: qualify for the Mistral Regional Tournament, where he had his ass handed to him every single final for the last four years, courtesy of Pyrrha Nikos.

The reason that he kept losing to her was twofold. She had better endurance than him. As far as skill went, they were almost equal. It just happened that Pyrrha was better suited for the long run than Arthur was, so he would often make the first mistake that would lose the match. The other major factor in this was Pyrrha's Semblance. Most people didn't realize it, but Arthur noticed whenever she would slightly alter the path of his attacks to either miss or glance off her shield.

Despite continuous losses to her, Arthur didn't dislike her. While they weren't what you could call friends, they were at least cordial to each other, appreciating the conversation.

"I could ask you the same thing. I thought you would be attending Haven Academy, seeing as you're from Mistral."

"The same goes for you. Aren't you from Atlas?"

Arthur sighed. "I guess. I have… personal reasons for coming here."

"I see. I suppose could say the same as well."

"Well, we're going to be classmates for the next four years. Best of luck to you, Nikos." Arthur extended his hand in greeting.

"And you as well." Pyrrha nodded as they shook hands.

With that, Arthur walked towards his friends, stopping next to them. "So, any more surprises I should be expecting?" He asked Ciel.

"Weiss Schnee."

Arthur blinked. "You're kidding me."

Ciel pointed at the door, where the Schnee heiress was walking through the door. She recognized Arthur, but only raised her eyebrow. Arthur did the same. Despite the cordial relations that both their older siblings had, it did not apply to them, mainly because neither of them had much time on their hands. As such, the most they gave each other a nod to acknowledge each other's existences.

It was then that Arthur saw another person come through the door, who he recognized from the week before.

Gil whispered in his ear. "Isn't that the Ruby Rose girl that held us up for almost an hour?"

Arthur nodded. "So, she really is going to Beacon. Must be the youngest student here."

A few minutes later, the headmaster of the school, Ozpin, walked to the microphone on-stage. "I'll... keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge - to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."

As he finished, Nana turned to the team. "Am I the only one that finds that strangely encouraging?"

Gil shook his head. "No, you are not."

"I concur." Ciel nodded.

Arthur nodded as well. "Well, here it is. First step to becoming full-fledged huntsmen. Let's go team— ah!"

Ciel, Gil and Nana could only sigh as Arthur fell face-first on the ground again.

Inspiring leader indeed.

* * *

"It's like a big slumber party!" Yang Xiao Long crashed down next to her sister.

"I don't think dad would approve of all the boys though." Ruby commented while writing her letter.

"I know I do." Yang purred, though approval seemed to fly out the window with the appearance of a guy in a onesie with bunny slippers. She decided to turn her focus elsewhere. "What's that?"

"A letter to the gang back at Signal. I promised to tell them all about Beacon and how things are going."

"Aww, that's so cuuuuute—"

"Shut up!" Ruby chucked a pillow at her sister. "I didn't get to take my friends with me to school. It's weird not knowing anyone here."

Yang tried to be supportive. "What about Jaune? He seems nice. There you go! Plus one friend! That's a hundred percent increase."

"Pretty sure Weiss counts as a negative friend. Back to zero."

"There's no such thing as negative friends. You just made one friend and enemy!" Yang got a corgi pillow to the face for her comments. "Look, it's only been one day. Trust me, you've got friends all around you. You just haven't met them yet."

It was at that point that Ruby sat up and noticed a group of four people by one of the walls. They were wearing pajamas this time (which was a given, considering the time), but she recognized them from before. "I know those people."

"Recognize them?" Yang asked.

Ruby nodded, somewhat excited. "Yeah! I saw them a week ago."

"Great! Let's start with them!"

* * *

"Oh, wow. This is almost like how we all used to sleep together back at the orphanage!" Nana looked kind of excited.

Gil did not. "We're 17 now. I don't think it's quite the same thing."

"Chances of scandalous activity happening are minimal, given how many people there are. At best, nothing should happen. At worst, there will be some ogling and flirting that might occur." Ciel was sitting against a wall with a blanket draped over her legs, working on a datapad.

"Ciel, you can modify bullets later. Just relax for now." Arthur said.

Ciel looked confused. "But this is relaxing."

"… Just don't forget to sleep because you were modifying bullets."

Ciel looked mildly offended. "Have I ever done that?"

This time, it was Nana that spoke up. "Umm, Ciel? I remember at least four times where you've been exhausted in the morning because you spent all night modifying bullets. Plus, your father told us to make sure you didn't oversleep."

Arthur's best friend turned a little bit red at the comment before noticing the approaching people. "Arthur."

They were interrupted by said approaching people. "Hellooo! I believe you two may know each other?"

Arthur looked up from where he was staring at the ground before a small smile appeared on his face. "Ruby Rose… pleasure to see you again. And you are?"

"Oh! This is Yang, my sister. I'm sorry, I kind of forgot your names."

Arthur sighed before reintroducing himself, Ciel, Gil, and Nana to the siblings. "While I'm sure you'd like to talk, we're trying to go to sleep soon. We can talk later, alright?"

"Yeah, that sounds great! I didn't know you guys were coming to Beacon."

"Way to go, sis! Come on, let's try to make a couple more!"

"But Yaaaang!"

As Yang dragged Ruby off and Arthur and the group were left to their own devices again, they finally decided to get some sleep. Nana was out like a light, while Gil made himself comfortable in his sleeping bag. Ciel also fell asleep rather quickly, which told Arthur that she was exhausted. She was usually a light sleeper.

Arthur, on the other hand, watched as Ruby interacted with another girl in what was clearly an attempt to be friends. The Visconti child raised his eyebrow in interest. Not at the girl herself, but at the bow she was wearing. It was oddly placed, at least in his eyes. After all, bows didn't exactly hold themselves up like that. Not to mention that it was almost bedtime, and sleeping with a bow in your hair probably came with all sorts of inconveniences. Arthur came to a conclusion rather quickly, but didn't bother mentioning it out loud. It wasn't his business if a faunus wanted to hide her race, after all. He understood why one might do so. But like he thought earlier, it wasn't his business.

What was his business however, was the argument that was occurring in his hearing range.

"What in the world is going on here? Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep?"

Arthur sighed and stood up before walking over to the source, tapping her on the shoulder. "Ms. Schnee, please try to be considerate of everyone here. My friends are trying to sleep and one of them has sensitive hearing."

Weiss whirled around, prepared to unleash a quiet, but furious wrath on whoever had interrupted her. That mindset was stopped when she realized who it was speaking to her. "Arthur Visconti. I thought I saw you at the initial gathering."

Arthur nodded. "Ciel spotted you when you entered the area. Pleasure to see you here."

"Likewise. How is your brother doing?" Weiss asked, completely defused.

"I believe your sister would have a better understanding of his current situation."

"Ah, yes. You're right. A pleasure seeing you, but I must turn in for the night."

As Weiss left, Arthur found himself being closely observed by Ruby and Yang, who seemed apprehensive.

"You know that girl, Arthur?"

Arthur nodded, "Both of us are from Atlas and our families are acquainted. That's how I know her."

Yang narrowed her eyes. "I see…"

Arthur read her expression before sighing. "Yes, I'm technically a hoity-toity upper-class brat as well. Emphasis on 'technically'."

Narrowed eyes widened back to regular size as Yang took in the comment. "I think I like you, cutie."

"First, don't ever call me that again. Second, I have a girlfriend." Arthur shook his head.

"Aww. Well, until next time, Arthur. Come on, Ruby. We should probably go sleep now."

"Yes!"

Arthur decided that then was a good time to crash into his sleeping bag. Clumsiness was not a problem he had to worry about when he was going to crash into a bed anyway.

"OW!"

Except when said bed was a sleeping bag that was on hardwood flooring.

* * *

The next day after weapons had been taken out of lockers and Arthur had run into a new guy by the name of Jaune (details were better left unsaid, suffice to say he made sure the new guy didn't try to flirt with Ciel ever again), everyone found themselves on pads with the Vale insignia on them.

Ozpin began. "For years you have trained to become warriors. Today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."

The other professor there, Glynda Goodwitch, continued. "Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates… today."

"Well, that answers that question." Arthur murmured to Ciel, who had been wondering about team assignments the day before.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So, it is in your best interest to be paired up with someone with whom you can work well. That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years." Ozpin said. Looking at his face, Nana could have sworn that the man was almost sadistic.

Had anyone looked at Arthur, they would have seen his eyes widen for the tiniest fraction of a second. Ciel simply smiled, because she knew exactly what was going through Arthur's brain. Gil also had a laugh.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die. You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene."

 _Sink or swim, huh? I'm starting to like Ozpin already._ Gil thought to himself.

"You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

"Yeah, um, sir—"

"Good! Now take your positions."

Arthur glanced over at his friends as they took their positions. "Whichever pair gets to the temple first waits for the other pair. We'll figure things out before we keep going, understood?"

"Yes, sir!"

Nana was the first to get launched, letting out a giant "Wheeeeee!" in excitement as she flew through the air.

Gil followed suit, though he was far less vocal. Granted, it wasn't because he was a calm person, but no one needed to know that.

Ciel however, stayed calm as she was launched into the sky, with Arthur following suit.

In retrospect, Ozpin probably wanted some degree of random chance to occur. Unfortunately, Arthur was not liable to letting that happen. Using the blast cannon on his God Arc, Arthur directed his shots so that he would follow directly behind Ciel. As they neared the trees, both God Eaters fired shots to slow their fall, before using a tree branch to stop said fall and land safely on the ground.

As they hit the ground, Arthur and Ciel gave each other a small smile.

"Well, that makes things easier."

"I concur." Ciel then closed her eyes in deep concentration before pressing her hand to the ground. "Nana and Gil just met up, so even if we do get put in different teams, we won't be completely alone."

Arthur breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. At least everyone will know someone they're familiar with."

"Arthur, you're also familiar with Pyrrha Nikos and Weiss Schnee. Not to mention you know of Ruby Rose and her sister, Yang Xiao Long." Ciel pointed out.

Arthur rolled his eyes at Ciel's comment. "Yeah, but none of those people are my best friend."

Ciel stopped there, considering Arthur's words. "You have a point."

"Right then, into to forest we go."

"Arthur, we're already in the forest."

"…Just let me have this moment, Ciel."

* * *

 **And that concludes this chapter, ladies and gents.**

 **So for those of you who don't play GE2RB, the God Eaters there have special abilities known as Blood Powers which are kind of like Semblances. However, they're different in that they're not so much a superpower. Rather, they provide support.**

 **For the most part, I'm going to try and take GE material and fit it into the RWBY universe in a way that fits into the story, whether that requires molding lore or incorporating technology in a method that makes sense.**

 **Also, I'm still trying to figure out a better name for this story. Raging Blood isn't exactly the one I want to go with.**

 **Anyway, here's the next character profile.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Name: Ciel Alencon (pronounced shee-il as opposed to see-el)**

 **Age: 16**

 **Eye Color: Gray**

 **Hair Color: White**

 **Height: 5'3**

 **Likes: Modifying bullets, cute and fluffy animals, lemon meringue pie, studying**

 **Dislikes: Loud noises, cherries, tuna**

 **Equipment: God Arc – Short Blade, Rifle, Buckler.**

 **Semblance: Intuit – The ability to sense the world around her**

 **Combat Description: Ciel acts for the most part as the long-range member of the team, though she can hold her own at close ranges. Ciel specializes in using dust-infused modified bullets, and is capable of modifying said bullets in the middle of a fight to fit a team's needs. With her Semblance, she can determine number and fighting strength of enemies in her vicinity and optimize a team's chances at survival by determining the most dangerous threat in an area.**

 **Trivia:**

 **Ciel is the adopted daughter of General James Ironwood**

 **She and Arthur consider each other best friends, having met years ago when Dr. Rachel first brought her to the orphanage.**

 **Is the most academically gifted on the team.**


	3. Chapter 2

**I just realized I forgot to do color themes and emblems for Arthur and Ciel, so I'll just go over that quickly. Arthur's color theme is navy while Ciel's color theme is green/white. Their emblems are a yellow spiked circle and a green drop of water with white in the center respectively.**

* * *

If there was one thing that Gilbert McLane hated above all else, it was heights. One day, the damn thing would be the death of him. Unfortunately, he didn't have the luxury of cursing, as he found himself chasing after Nana using his Charge Spear to boost himself along.

One of the most useful features of the Charge Spear was that it could be used for propulsion. While Arthur thought it ironic that Gilbert would use a weapon that could allow him to glide through the air for short periods of time, the spear user disagreed, as he could use his weapon to slow his fall if necessary. Like in this situation.

Eventually, when Nana hit the ground, Gil took the opportunity to slowly lower himself, landing a couple meters away from the pink-loving God Eater. "Nana."

"Yeah Gil?"

"Please try to slow down a bit."

"Wow, Gil. I know you're afraid of heights, but that's a little bit too much." Nana said as she hefted up her Boost Hammer.

Gil was not amused. "Anyway, the relic should be this way. I brought a compass just in case."

"Awesome!"

* * *

Glynda Goodwitch looked at the screen in interest. "Visconti and Alencon are partnered up, and so are McLane and Kozuki. Interesting. To think that the God Eaters would pair up almost right away."

"It's about as expected, Glynda. After all, they were all raised to become a team by Dr. Rachel Claudius, you know."

"The scientist that runs the orphanage on the side in Atlas?"

"The very same. While her methods have been somewhat controversial in the past, they have also created the strongest Anti-Grimm fighting force, with the key figure in it being Julius Visconti, her adoptive son."

That got the professor's attention. "The older Visconti child?"

Ozpin nodded. "The very same. Julius and Arthur were both adopted by her after their parents were killed and no one else wanted to adopt them."

"Julius has already graduated, correct?"

"That is correct. In fact, I believe he and Miss Schnee's older sister graduated from Atlas Academy as part of the same team. Something on your mind, Glynda?"

Professor Goodwitch nodded. "Why would you ask Dr. Rachel if she could send Arthur over here and not Julius when he became old enough to attend the huntsmen academy?"

"…"

"Professor?"

"Because Arthur possesses a unique ability that Julius does not. Tell me, have you heard of Evoke?"

* * *

"Say, Pyrrha?" Jaune asked.

"Yes, Jaune?"

"Who was that other guy that you spoke with briefly before we got to the cliff?"

Pyrrha took a moment to think about it before it dawned on her. "Oh! You mean Arthur Visconti, right?"

Jaune nodded. He didn't say anything though. That very palpable threat of castration by surgical precision he received would remain his little secret. "Yeah, him. Who exactly is he? I heard a couple people mention that he was a bit of a celebrity as well."

"Of a sort." Pyrrha nodded. "Arthur was also an athlete before he came to Beacon, so some people know him from that. He's from Atlas, but he's participated in the Mistral Regional Tournament a couple times because there was no equivalent he could attend in Atlas. I've fought him a couple times in the tournament. You may have seen him on the cereal box as well."

Jaune chuckled nervously. "I think one of my sisters may have fangirled a bit over him."

* * *

Most people in a forest where Grimm could take you by surprise would try to be extremely people. Ciel Alencon and Arthur Visconti were not most people. With Ciel's Semblance, Intuit, the two of them could travel through the forest at a brisk pace without much worry.

Key word being 'much'. Ciel stopped Arthur for a second. "A small pack of Beowolves will be at our position in about a minute. Do we want to engage?"

Arthur blinked once before changing his God Arc into Blade Mode to prepare for the upcoming fight. "Might as well get rid of them now. It'd also help the other students in the forest if there were less Grimm around."

"Acknowledged." Ciel also shifted her God Arc into Blade Mode. While she would have preferred to go sniping, there were only two of them here. In this situation, melee combat was the preferable option.

Arthur ran a hand along his God Arc, which began to glow. "Let's go."

They were upon the Beowolves in an instant.

* * *

"So, is there anything special about Arthur?" Jaune asked. "I mean, you're a star athlete and he's also fought you in tournaments before."

Pyrrha nodded. "He's one of the two remaining users of the Visconti Sword School."

"Uh, the what?"

"It's an old school of sword-fighting. Most fighters learn combat from mentors or schools dedicated to swordsmanship. The Visconti Sword School is slightly different. It's a more advanced school that puts their emphasis on one thing: Aura manipulation."

Jaune was confused. "Aura manipulation? How is that different from using aura like you mentioned earlier?"

"While many huntsmen are capable of manipulating aura through their weapons or body, the Visconti are undisputedly the best at it. They can shape their very aura into weapons, unlike many people who use their aura in tandem with dust or their Semblance to fight. With it, they can create waves of energy,"

* * *

Arthur cut through another Beowolf before turning around and sending out a wave of aura that cut through three more Beowolves.

Off to the side, Ciel did a flip over a Beowolf while decapitating it before bringing her God Arc down to cut down another Beowolf down the center.

* * *

"increase their mobility,"

* * *

Arthur ran his hand down his blade again before channeling aura into his feet and charging with unprecedented speed and cutting through more Grimm.

* * *

"or even augment the strength of their attacks." Pyrrha finished.

"Question. Does each move have a name?" Jaune asked.

Pyrrha nodded. "They're all named based on how they're used.

"That is so cool!" Jaune looked excited. "Do you think I could learn from him?"

Pyrrha shook her head. "Perhaps one day. For now, we should focus on getting the relic."

"Oh, right! Relic first."

* * *

After finishing off the Grimm, Arthur and Ciel made their way to the temple. Finally getting there, it took them a moment to figure out what they were looking at.

"Chess pieces. The relics are chess pieces. I'm guessing they're not really relics after all then." Arthur noted.

"Indeed. This is most likely how they do their initiation every year." Ciel agreed.

Arthur looked at the temple, noting how the pillars were rather well-maintained. "So, in other words, they come here every year, make sure these pedestals are intact, and place 'relics' to determine how the teams will be set up. Any ideas on how grading is done, Ciel?"

Ciel glanced over at each of the pieces before making her analysis. "Given that there are two of every piece here, even the ones that should not have two pieces, it is safe to assume that whichever pairs pick the same pieces will be part of the same team."

* * *

Professor Ozpin chuckled. "Oh, she's good. I suppose I shouldn't underestimate General Ironwood's daughter."

"That's James' adopted daughter?" Professor Goodwitch looked at the screen, confused. "Why is she in Beacon?"

"If the report I received from Dr. Rachel is correct, it's because the two of them are the closest of friends."

"It's hard to imagine James would approve of his daughter attending a school that wasn't Atlas Academy." The telekinetic professor looked surprised.

Ozpin chuckled. "Knowing Dr. Rachel, she probably talked him into it. She can be quite convincing when she needs to be."

* * *

A couple moments later, Arthur heard something over the horizon that sounded distinctly like something being launched. "Ciel, that's not what I think it is, is it?"

"If you are thinking that it's Nana and Gil coming here through unconventional methods, you are correct." Ciel stated.

"I was afraid of that."

A couple seconds later, Nana's Boost Hammer crash-landed in front of Arthur, with Gil and Nana following suit.

"Dare I ask how this happened?"

"Nana tied herself and me to her hammer and spun around until she could throw it far enough to land near where we thought the relic was." Gil explained. "We just managed to get lucky with placement."

"Right, I guess that works." Arthur shrugged. "At least we're all here with no Grimm on our tail."

It was at that moment Nana spoke up. "Umm, Arthur?"

"…You didn't."

"Afraid so. I might have gotten a bit excited. I think it was a pretty big one. Still a bit of a distance away, but it's closing in."

Gil palmed his face. "I was afraid of this."

Nana's Semblance, Attract, was one of the most dangerous Semblances in existence. Not in terms of potency, but in terms of what it might do. Attract forced attention to be diverted to the user, which meant that Nana could effectively get anyone to focus their attention on her.

Unfortunately, as she didn't have complete control over it yet, this also applied to Grimm.

"Nana…" Ciel mirrored Gil's expression. "Orders, Arthur?"

Arthur's mood switched. "Grab the black knights and let's move back to the cliff. If we're going to end up fighting a huge Grimm, we might as well lead it away from here so the others coming don't have to worry about it. Ciel, do we have an idea of what it is?"

Ciel frowned as she pressed her hand to the ground, eyes closed. "It's difficult to tell. It's large and moving quickly, but it doesn't seem to be able to turn as fast."

"Can it fly?"

"No."

Arthur nodded in understanding. "Nana, bait it. Ciel, find us a spot. Gil, I need traps to try and slow it down. When we get it to the clearing, Ciel focuses on sniping while we go with Merry-Go-Round. Let's move."

"Yes, sir!"

When they finally made it to the clearing, they started setting up. Ciel noticed a spot in a tree. "Nana, I need a slingshot."

"Right!" Nana prepped her Boost Hammer, pulling back before taking a huge swing.

As Nana started swinging, Ciel hopped into the air and planted her feet on the front of the hammer, letting Nana spin around once before pushing off, the extra momentum giving her what she needed to land in the tree.

"Traps are set!" Gil called out.

Arthur nodded. "Great! Everyone stay concealed except for Nana. Once Gil's traps go off, we move in and initiate combat. Let's move!"

A minute later, a large Grimm appeared, being about the size of a Death Stalker, but having the shape of an alligator. It was well armored, on both the top and bottom and it seemed to crackle with electricity.

Everyone recognized it from their Grimm glossaries. "A Sinensis."

Nana waved at the Grimm. "Hey, you looking for me? I'm right here! Just don't try to eat me. I don't taste that good, even if I do eat a lot of food."

As the Grimm got closer, Gil pressed his trigger. A large flash of light blinded the Grimm, commencing the next step of the operation.

Arthur, Nana, and Gil ran around the Sinensis, firing off their weapons to damage it while Ciel aimed for its legs to slow it down. This was the basics of Merry-Go-Round: Divert the attention of the Grimm so that it couldn't focus on a single person. Whenever it did lock onto a single person, that initiated the next step.

When the Sinensis focused on Gil, Arthur shouted. "Switch!"

On that word, Arthur and Nana both jumped from where they were on the sides of the Grimm, switching to Long Blade and Boost Hammer respectively before attacking the Grimm. The strikes were enough to distract the Sinensis , with Gilbert taking advantage of that moment to stab it with his Charge Spear before throwing an explosive charged with lightning dust to paralyze it. It was enough to keep it from suddenly lunging, so they fell back to evaluate the situation.

As they took the moment to catch their breath, Ciel hopped down from her tree. "We're not doing enough substantial damage. It's too well-armored. We need to do as much damage as we can with a single attack."

Arthur looked at the Grimm that Gil was pelting with flashbangs before an idea came to mind. "We're switching strategies. Falling Petal. You all know your roles."

Everyone nodded before Gil and Nana charged at the Grimm, with Ciel hopping up to a different sniping spot. Falling Petal was a different strategy in that it involved distracting the enemy until Arthur had fully charged up his technique, which was also named Falling Petal. By himself, he would never consider using it, as it took too long to charge up. As part of a team, there was enough distraction provided for him to fully charge the attack. There were two more variations to this strategy that were utilized by Nana and Gil depending on what kind of attack was needed.

Arthur stood in place before raising up his God Arc with both hands, eyes closed. As the seconds passed by, the God Arc glowed as more aura was being poured into it.

While he did so, Nana was having a field day with the Sinensis' face. One of the most useful features of the Boost Hammer was that, as the name suggested, it had extra propulsion behind it for when Nana wanted more speed on her swings. Nana was using this to great effect, leaving only half a second between strikes as she continued battering the Grimm's head. Over on the side, Gil was surrounding the Grimm with traps that only left it a single direction: forward.

Arthur's shout of "Ready!" got their attention, prompting Nana to stop battering the Grimm's face and lead it to her captain with her Semblance. As the Sinensis got closer, Arthur's eyes remained closed before opening. With some exertion, Arthur brought down his blade. A giant blade of aura came out of the God Arc, splitting the Grimm cleanly in two before it started to dissolve in smoke. Arthur stumbled right afterward before being caught by Gil.

"So much for the epic pose that you were planning to do after you killed it." Gil had a smile on his face.

Arthur responded with a grin. "Shut up, Gil."

Nana was jumping in the air in joy. "We did it!"

Ciel ended up being the buzzkill in the celebration, though she did have a small smile on her face as well. "We still need to get up the cliff to finish the assignment."

Arthur raised up a hand. "Just give me a moment to catch my breath. I spent a lot of energy on that last attack."

"Very well. I will make sure to add more stamina training to your regimen later." If not for the look in Ciel's eyes, Arthur would have assumed she was serious.

* * *

When they finally made it up the cliff, Professor Ozpin was there to greet them. "Well done, students. You are the first group to make it back."

Arthur and Nana handed over the chess pieces. "Your 'relics', sir." Arthur made sure to put an emphasis on the word 'relic'.

The professor chuckled. "I see you four figured out how teams were created. Well done. Dr. Rachel certainly raised you well."

"Thank you so much, sir!" Nana said.

"Now, you have two options. You can go in and wait for the rest of the students to get here, or you can go straight to the auditorium. Either way, you will be waiting."

"We should get a good view then, don't you think?" Nana asked.

Ciel nodded. "Agreed."

"I think it's a good idea." Arthur sat down on the grass. "Nana tends to have quite a few of those."

Gil still looked a little pale from the climb up the cliff. "Maybe we could sit a little further back from the edge. That'd be nice."

"Do you mind if we look at the video feed, professor?"

"Help yourself."

* * *

After killing the two large Grimm that had come after them, the four pairs of partners made it up the cliff to see a group of four sitting there munching on raisins while looking at a video feed along with two professors.

Pyrrha raised her eyebrow. "You four certainly finished quickly. Were you waiting here the entire time?"

Gil shrugged. "The other option was to wait in the auditorium. We figured we could go for the more scenic waiting area."

"Nice job with the Death Stalker and Nevermore, by the way." Arthur had a smile on his face.

Ruby was quick to respond, blushing. "Oh, stop it."

"Yeah, that was so cool how you just ran up the cliff dragging the Nevermore with your scythe." Nana looked excited.

"It was certainly impressive." Ciel noted. "Especially Mr. Arc's strategic planning. Few people are that naturally gifted at tactics."

Jaune scratched the back of his head, sheepish from the praise. "Thanks."

"So, how'd you guys do?" Yang asked.

Arthur shrugged. "We did alright."

"Your friends here were actually the first to make it back to the cliff." Ozpin noted.

Pyrrha raised an eyebrow at Arthur, who responded in kind. The athletic rivals stared each other down for a second before Ozpin interrupted them.

"While it would make for riveting conversation, the twelve of you should probably head back to the auditorium now. We will be deciding teams in a moment."

At that, the two broke their stares and started walking back to school. Arthur took the time to talk with Pyrrha.

Pyrrha initiated the conversation. "Your group finished first?"

Arthur nodded. "According to Professor Ozpin. We've been working together for years. Coordinating is second nature to us. Granted, we ended up fighting a Sinensis on the way to the cliffs, but we took it down without too much trouble. We figured that if we could wait in either the auditorium or on the cliff, that we'd pick the more scenic view."

Pyrrha frowned. "A Sinensis? Aren't those rare?"

"Nana got its attention by accident with her Semblance."

"I see. Did you partner up with Ciel?" Pyrrha asked.

Arthur raised his eyebrow. "Is that even a question?"

"No, I suppose not."

"So, who'd you partner with?"

"I partnered with Jaune."

Arthur blinked for a moment. "Jaune? As in Jaune Arc?"

Pyrrha looked strangely at Arthur. "Do you not like him?"

Arthur shrugged. "He tried to flirt with Ciel, I threatened him with precise castration if he tried again. That about sums it up. As long as he doesn't do it again, I don't think I'll have a problem with him."

"Well, I see you're protective of your girlfriend." Yang Xiao Long popped up behind them with a cheeky grin, making them both jump.

"Arthur and I are not romantic partners. We are however, best friends." Ciel stated from the side.

Yang looked thoughtful. "I see. Care to make some more friends? We can hang out during lunch."

"Can we really?" Ciel's eyes started sparkling.

"Of course! Well, if you can make time for us. Ruby needs to learn to make more friends."

"Arthur is always encouraging me to make new friends as well." Ciel said with a smile.

Arthur nodded. "That, I am."

"Great! It's settled. We're all friends now."

All things considered, Arthur thought coming to Beacon was a great idea.

Then he tripped and fell face-first on the ground.

 _I was wondering when that was going to happen again._

* * *

"Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark. The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL, led by Cardin Winchester."

Arthur barely glanced over as that team was formed. It was the next group that interested him.

"Jaune Arc. Lie Ren. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR (Juniper). Led by Jaune Arc."

Jaune's surprise was evident. "Huh? L-led by?"

Arthur was surprised as well. "I thought Pyrrha would be the one leading."

Ciel whispered to him. "Jaune was the one making the strategic calls during that fight with the Death Stalker. He may not be as strong in combat, but he probably does a good job directing people."

"Fair point." By the time they finished talking, the next group was up.

"Blake Belladonna. Ruby Rose. Weiss Schnee. Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY (Ruby). Led by Ruby Rose."

Arthur blinked. "That was unexpected."

"Did you expect anyone else to lead?" Gil asked.

"…maybe Weiss?"

Nana looked over. "Arthur, do you really think that?"

"…point."

After watching everyone else go ahead of them in team assignments, Arthur's group was up.

"And finally: Ciel Alencon, Nana Kozuki, Gilbert McLane, Arthur Visconti. The four of you retrieved the black knight pieces. From this day forward, you four will work as Team ACGN (Acorn), led by Arthur Visconti."

Like the first group, the newly-christened Team ACGN stood there stoically. At least until they walked off-stage. Out of all the teams there, only Team ACGN looked completely unsurprised by their assignments.

"Did you guys know how the teams were going to be decided?" Pyrrha asked, curious.

"Ciel figured that out pretty quickly. But I want to talk to you about something else." Arthur extended his hand. "I know we're just acquaintances, but if we're going to be classmates for the next four years, we might as well be friends. So, what do you say, Nikos? Friends?"

Pyrrha smiled before shaking. "That sounds wonderful."

Things were shaping up to be a good year.

* * *

Elsewhere, a person chuckled as he read the message from his scroll.

"Something the matter?" A woman next to him asked.

He shook his head. "Nothing to be worried about. Arthur just finished Beacon's initiation as a team leader."

"I see. And Weiss?"

"She's in a different team, though she's not the leader. Break is over, right?"

Winter Schnee nodded. "That's right. We have a briefing to head to, Julius. Let's go."

The man nodded and stood up. He spared one last glance at his scroll where there was a picture of Arthur chatting amicably with some new friends.

Julius Visconti smiled. _It's good to see that you're doing well, Arthur._

* * *

 **Well, that settles it for this chapter. I'll try to get weekly uploads out, though as a certified computer science major, that might be difficult.**

 **The Sinensis is based off the Ukonvasara from God Eater. I said I would be including characters and monsters from God Eater and I intend to stay true to that promise. Granted, I'll be changing color schemes to make sense, but other than that, Aragami from God Eater will be making an appearance here.**

 **The Visconti Sword School is essentially my replacement for Blood Arts, which I personally am enjoying. And yes, I eventually plan to have Jaune learn some techniques. It'll be another power-up for him, seeing as he has yet to have a ranged option.**

 **As of this chapter, I've also decided to change the name of this fanfic to 'Inheritance'. There's a reason to the naming, though I won't be discussing it for now.**

 **Other than that, feel free to shoot reviews, questions, criticisms, or even insults if that's your thing (please don't shoot insults. They're not really worth it).**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **WX**

* * *

 **Name: Gilbert McLane**

 **Age: 18**

 **Eye Color: Blue**

 **Hair Color: Dark Brown**

 **Color Theme: Purple**

 **Emblem: A spear laid over the letter 'G'**

 **Height: 6'1**

 **Likes: Playing guitar, billiards, riding motorcycles**

 **Dislikes: Heights, broken equipment, pineapples**

 **Equipment: God Arc – Charge Spear, Assault Rifle, Shield**

 **Semblance: Inspire – Can deliver what is effectively an adrenaline rush to his team.**

 **Combat Description: The second middleman of Team ACGN, Gilbert puts more of a focus on using the Assault Rifle feature of his God Arc than he does on the Charge Spear though he'll switch with Arthur depending on what's needed on the battlefield. Gilbert also works as a technician of sorts, utilizing all sorts of gadgets on the battlefield, ranging from mines to traps as well as explosives and flashbangs.**

 **Trivia:**

 **Is slightly older than the rest of the God Eaters on Team ACGN, due to having been found on the streets a year after he would have started his education as a huntsman. As a result, he joined in the same year as Arthur, Ciel and Nana.**

 **Is the primary mechanic for the team, having taught the rest of the team to maintain their God Arcs and is able to replace each module of a God Arc if necessary.**

 **Skilled with drawing. He helped to design everyone's emblems.**

 **The most perceptive of people's emotions**

* * *

 **Name: Nana Kozuki**

 **Age: 17**

 **Eye Color: Dark Pink**

 **Hair Color: Black**

 **Color Theme: Pink.**

 **Emblem: Pink cat curled up to sleep**

 **Height: 5'2**

 **Likes: Oden Sandwiches, Cooking, basically anything food-related**

 **Dislikes: Sniping, military rations, snakes (she had a traumatic experience with a King Taijitu)**

 **Equipment: God Arc – Boost Hammer, Shotgun, Tower Shield**

 **Semblance: Attract – Can force people to divert their attention to her.**

 **Combat Description: Nana is the consistent front line for Team ACGN, being able to soak up damage without even batting an eye. While most people would be sent flying, Nana can hold her ground against even a punch from an Atlesian Paladin (tested while at Atlas). As far as Aura potential goes, Nana has the most out of any member on the team.**

 **Trivia:**

 **Picture-perfect definition of the word 'gullible', as "rules" written on a sticky note are enough to make her follow instructions**

 **Gets about as depressed as Nora Valkyrie on a 'pancakes for breakfast' day.**

 **Is the undisputed board game champion of Team ACGN.**


	4. Chapter 3

**On to the next chapter then. Another thing I'll be doing from this chapter onward is listing the names of Arthur's attacks in parentheses following each execution. No, he won't be screaming them out like in a classic anime, but it will make it easier to follow, rather than having to describe the move each time.**

* * *

Nana Kozuki found herself stretching as morning came along before being forcefully yanked out of bed. "Wah!"

She looked up to see the rest of her teammates looking at her. "Nana, you do realize that we're supposed to be up early today, right?"

"Aww… Why?" Nana pouted.

Ciel started listing off reasons. "We have yet to unpack and we need to convert our beds into bunks so we can have more space. Gil already has all the equipment to make it stable, we just need you to help with the heavy lifting, since none of us trust Arthur given his sense of balance."

"Way to rub salt in the wound, Ciel." Arthur muttered.

"But why didn't we do this yesterday? You know, the morning that classes started?"

Gil raised an eyebrow from where he was drilling a hole in the bedpost. "We were waiting for you to wake up. You didn't until fifteen minutes before class started. By the time classes got out, none of us were in the mood."

Nana sulked. "Thanks, guys."

"Hey, if you get it done quickly, I'll make sure to get you double helpings at lunch today." Arthur encouraged her.

Nana nodded excitedly. "I'll do it!"

It was one of the finest strategies that the Arthur, Ciel, and Gil had come up with early in their formation as a team. Give Nana Kozuki food as an incentive and she will get anything done in record time.

"Great! We'll start with this bed, then. Flip it upside down so I can start drilling holes." Gil said, having finished drilling holes for the beds that would be on the bottom.

Nana paused for a moment. "Why are we making bunk beds again?"

"Nana, you know how we need space for Gil's God Arc workstation? And all of Arthur's tailoring tools? As well as my bullet editor?"

That was all the reminder Nana needed. "Oh yeah. I forgot about that. Let's do this!"

"I'll get started on the workstations." Arthur said. "They're easy enough that I don't have to worry about breaking it by accident."

That was when Nana's stomach started growling and she collapsed from hunger. "Does anyone have any food?"

Arthur paused before going to his suitcase and pulling out a turkey sandwich. "Will this do?"

"Perfect!"

"Why do you have a turkey sandwich in your suitcase, Arthur?" Gil looked suspicious.

"Backup plan."

"Ah."

Remodeling came quickly after that, with the bunk beds and workstations finished up with plenty of time to spare, after which Arthur set about putting up Nana's hair into the cat-ear shapes that she loved dearly. "Ciel, how long do we have until classes start?"

Ciel checked her scroll. "About ten minutes. We should head over now."

Nana groaned. "Do we really have to?"

It wasn't that the girl didn't like classes, it was just… she didn't like classes. Plus. they hadn't had breakfast yet. While Nana's academic performance was only second to Ciel's (Gil was by far the worst), she still disliked classes with a passion. Even if she did like the professors on their first day of classes, it didn't excuse how much she disliked lectures.

"If we're taking into account how many times Arthur will fall before we make it to the classroom, yes."

"Ciel, I know you're my best friend, so could you show me a bit of mercy?" Arthur asked.

"Umm, guys? You should look at the window." Gil pointed out.

They all turned to see a peregrine falcon pecking at the window, with a snowy owl right next to it staring in. Everyone recognized the birds, seeing as they belonged to Arthur and Ciel respectively.

Gil walked over and popped open the windows to let the birds in.

Ciel and Arthur extended their arms, letting the snowy owl and peregrine falcon land respectively on each person's appendage.

"Bell, this is hardly the place for you to be, you know?" Ciel softly chided her owl, who tilted her head in confusion, as if to say that this was the most logical place in the world to be.

Arthur looked at his falcon. "Pepper, is that a note on your leg?"

Pepper stuck her leg up, as if gesturing for Arthur to take the note. Which she was. She was smart like that.

Arthur took the note and read it out loud. _"My sweet children, I hope your friends found you well. We were in Vale for a short time, though I regret to say we could not visit. Regardless, I thought it best to let your birds stay with you, as a way of congratulations on your enrollment in Vale. They were quite eager to see you again. You truly have raised them well. Always remember: As individuals you may be strong. As a team, invincible._

 _I wish you the best of luck as you continue your life at Beacon,_

 _With much love,_

 _Rachel Claudius._

 _P.S. Professor Ozpin has already been informed of your new roommates and will be sending up accommodations by the time this note arrives."_

As Arthur closed the note, Nana smiled. "I love Dr. Rachel."

"I wonder what she was doing in Vale." Ciel was curious.

Gil shrugged. "Must have been for securing new clients, knowing her."

"The more important question is where are they going to stay while we go to class?" Arthur noted.

"They could just stay in our room, you know." Gil pointed out.

Nana's face screamed 'Are you serious?' as she scratched Bell's neck. "We can't just leave them here. The room's too small."

"I can build an aviary for them to stay in that extends from the window."

Pepper glared at Gil as Ciel spoke. "That takes days. What are we going to do right now? They're probably exhausted from flying here."

"Perhaps you should just take them to your classes with you. You can explain the situation to the professors." A voice said at the door.

Team ACGN turned around to see Professor Ozpin with a knowing smile on his face.

"When did you…?" Ciel seemed shocked. Usually she would have noticed someone at their door. The Intuit Semblance was useful like that.

"Just now. Your door was ajar and I thought I would provide you all with a solution. Will it be a problem?"

Arthur let Pepper perch on his head as he turned to answer. "I can't speak for Bell, but Pepper is kind of shy around people."

Bell answered the professor's question for her partner by flying to one of the bedposts.

Nana stared for a moment. "Maybe I was too worried."

"I suppose Bell will be fine here. You can stay here as well, Pepper." Ciel smiled.

Pepper just gripped onto Arthur's skull harder.

"Ow! Alright, Pepper! You can come with me. Sheesh, you're still as attached as the day I found you." Arthur sighed as he let Pepper land on his shoulder. "I think that answers the question."

"Splendid! Now, run along. I'll have their roosting boxes brought up in a couple hours. Mr. McLane, feel free to do what you want with the room. I'm certain the birds could use more space."

"Thank you, Professor."

Ciel looked at her clock. "We have one minute to get to class."

"What?!" Everyone started running for it, except for Arthur who took a second to look back in the room where Bell was staying. The owl seemed to raise her eyebrow.

"Bell, you are way too easy on Ciel. Why couldn't Pepper be more like you?" Arthur closed the door.

Bell gave the door the bird equivalent of a raised eyebrow before settling in and falling asleep.

* * *

Ruby did not expect to see a falcon on Arthur's shoulder when lunch came along, so she ended up staring.

Arthur sighed. "Yeah, I know. Pepper, meet Ruby. Ruby, Pepper. Pepper here has been my companion for the longest time. She insisted on staying by my side all day, which is why people have been turning their heads my direction in every class."

"You don't seem happy to have her here." Weiss noted.

"Oh, no. I'm actually kind of glad to have Pepper here. I've missed her." Arthur started rubbing her head with a smile.

"I don't suppose this the girlfriend you mentioned, is it?" Yang joked.

Arthur rolled his eyes. "As if. I've known Pepper since she was still a hatchling."

Ruby looked entranced. "Can I pet her?"

"You can try, but it's all up to Pepper. She's somewhat shy around people."

Ruby went ahead and tried either way. To everyone's surprise, Pepper nuzzled her head against Ruby's hand.

Arthur blinked in surprise. "That's unusual. Pepper likes you. She doesn't usually warm up to people that quickly."

"Indeed. The shortest time I have ever seen her respond like that to someone was roughly two weeks." Ciel looked impressed.

"Way to go, sis!" Yang slapped Ruby in the back.

Said slap in the back made Pepper jump up a foot before settling back down and glaring at Yang.

"See, that was more of the reaction I was expecting." Arthur said before Pepper gently nipped his ear, trying to grab his attention. "Alright, alright. Nana, do you have any food?"

Nana pulled out a small bag of meat for the falcon. "Here, Pepper."

The falcon hopped down to grab the food in the bag, tearing at the meat so it would be easier to eat.

"Did we leave any food in the room for Bell?" Arthur suddenly frowned.

"Who's Bell?" Ruby asked.

"Ciel's owl." Gil replied. "She's a lot less active than Pepper is. Not as attached, either."

Ciel smiled. "I wouldn't worry. Bell went hunting just before she and Pepper reached our room."

"And why didn't you go hunting, huh?" Arthur looked at Pepper suspiciously.

Said falcon suddenly looked very guilty, if that was even possible.

"Do all of you have pet birds?" Blake asked, eyeing Pepper suspiciously.

"First off, Pepper and Bell are not our pets. They're our companions. And second, no. Ciel and I found them at different times, though they were both hatchlings when we found them abandoned. We took them home to take care of them, and here we are."

Yang's face suddenly took on a thoughtfully punful expression. "So, your birds are named Bell and Pepper, huh?"

"Yes, we're aware that their names together make bell pepper. It was a pure accident. No, they don't like bell peppers." Arthur deadpanned. "By the way Ruby, did you and Weiss figure out all that drama that happened yesterday?"

Ruby nodded. "Yeah, we're good now. Right, Weiss?"

"Certainly better." Weiss nodded.

"Speaking of drama, you've alluded to your girlfriend plenty of times before. Want to tell us who it is?" Yang asked.

"Yuno Ashihara." Arthur deadpanned.

There was an awkward silence at the table before Yang laughed. "Hey, good joke. If you say one of the most popular idols in the last decade is your girlfriend, then I suppose she is. But seriously, one of these days we're gonna find out."

"Anyways, we'll see you in combat class." Team RWBY picked up their trays and headed out.

Gil looked at Arthur in surprise. "You told the truth and they didn't believe it."

"Technically, I lied by telling the truth. It works. By the way, make sure you guys keep quiet about that. And that includes you, Pepper."

The falcon looked up from where she was eating food, slightly confused.

"Arthur, I don't think Pepper can communicate like that." Nana pointed out.

"Nana, I think you're underestimating how smart Pepper is." Arthur pointed out. "Come on, let's head to class."

* * *

After finally convincing Pepper to go back to their room for the day, Arthur went down to a training room with his God Arc before beginning practice swings. While many people would find it rather dull to watch, Arthur found that returning to the basics was the fastest way to improve oneself, with the other method being sparring.

"Need a sparring partner?" Speaking of which…

Arthur turned around to see Pyrrha walking in the room with her weapons. He shrugged. "Why not? It's been a while since we've fought."

"Seeing as you didn't have that weapon the last time we fought, yes." Pyrrha pointed out. "That's one of the thirteen God Arcs, isn't it?"

"Someone's been studying." Arthur noted before looking at his God Arc. "Though, I've actually had this God Arc since the second tournament. Didn't want to use it when I was just as comfortable with Glimmer. Not to mention it has an unfair advantage during competitions. Granted, I'll be using my God Arc from here on out, but I do miss using Glimmer from time to time."

Glimmer was Arthur's hand-and-a-half sword that he had received from his mother before switching over to using a God Arc full-time. Unlike many other weapons designed by people, it had no alternate forms to it. However, it did include a function to imbue dust, not unlike Myrtenaster, and was made in such a way as to facilitate channeling aura, which made it perfect for Arthur given how he fought. Currently, it resided in a sheath in Arthur's suitcase.

"Doesn't the weight difference bother you?" Pyrrha asked.

Arthur shook his head. "Not quite. Here, give it a try." Flipping it around, Arthur offered it to Pyrrha handle-first.

Pyrrha looked apprehensive. "Don't God Arcs drain through the aura of anyone that's not its user?"

"They do, but it won't be a problem if you just hold it for a couple seconds."

Pyrrha complied, eyes widening a bit in surprise. "That's not as heavy as I thought it would be. In fact, it's only a bit heavier than Glimmer."

Arthur took back the God Arc before running his hand down the blade. "Ready when you are."

"Arthur, we both know that you don't actually need to run your hand down the blade." Pyrrha raised her eyebrow as she assumed a battle stance.

Arthur flashed a small grin. "Busted. But the less people know, the more I can surprise them in an actual fight."

By running his hand down the blade, Arthur could channel his aura into the weapon in such a way that he could, for a lack of better words, format how it acted while in the blade. This led to techniques such as the ability to create sword waves with aura as well as propel him through the air by expelling aura out of the blade. While this had the potential to cause problems if he expended to much aura at once, the very nature of a God Arc meant that Arthur would be able to replenish that aura without much worry.

What never occurred to most people was that Arthur didn't actually need to run his hand down the blade for most techniques. It was simply a trap to bait people into thinking that he needed to do so in order to activate the techniques. After years of learning to manipulate his aura from his brother, it was only natural. Granted, the more difficult techniques for Arthur still required him to run his hand down the blade, but those could be counted with a single hand.

The two of them charged each other, with God Arc and sword clashing before Arthur jumped back and sent a wave of aura (Sonic Caliber) at Pyrrha, who rolled to the side to dodge it before throwing her spear at Arthur.

Arthur responded by activating the shield on his God Arc to block the attack before switching back, only to find himself on the defensive as Pyrrha got in his range and bashed him in the stomach with her shield before transitioning into a full offensive. For most people with a larger sword, that would spell death as closer ranges would prevent the wielders from being able to fight effectively. Given the weight of the God Arc though, coupled with Arthur's speed that rivaled Pyrrha's, the God Eater blocked almost every strike that she inflicted, only letting by the ones that resulted in glancing blows.

Not wanting to stay on the defensive, Arthur activated the blast cannon function on his God Arc, aiming it into the ground to create a shockwave that sent both fighters a short distance away, none worse for the wear.

"I swear, fighting you never gets easier." Arthur took a quick breather.

"I have to agree as well." Pyrrha took a breath as well. "People who use Visconti techniques are difficult opponents."

"Your Semblance is difficult to work around as well, you know." Arthur pointed out. "I keep on having trouble with it, seeing how you barely ever pull out its full power."

Pyrrha's control over magnetism was difficult to gauge, given how she only made slight adjustments with it at best. It also made Arthur's life a lot more difficult whenever he fought her. Fortunately for the God Eater, aura wasn't magnetic, so Pyrrha couldn't affect it with her Semblance.

"Aura manipulation may as well be your Semblance as well, given how much control you have over it." Pyrrha pointed out. "You're the only person that I know who can weaponize his aura so effectively."

"Clearly, you haven't met my older brother." Arthur's expression became a tad bit more melancholic. "Besides, my Semblance isn't even that great."

Arthur's Semblance, Evoke, was uniquely his, as far he knew. While many people had Semblances that enhanced their ability to fight, Arthur did not. A Semblance that also belonged to Solei Visconti, his birth mother, Arthur discovered early on that his Semblance acted as a skeleton key for people's auras, being able to unlock their Semblances if he knew enough about them.

He also disliked his Semblance with a passion, as he had only discovered it after his mother had died. On one hand, it was heartwarming to know that in a way, part of his mother lived on in him. On the other hand, it also seemed as if the universe was mocking him, as if his mother's death had caused him to unlock his Semblance. The other reason he disliked it so much was the implication of the Semblance. He was destined to be the stepping stone that led other people to greatness, which was why he tried so hard in his achievements.

The other big thing that always brought down Arthur's mood was the topic of his brother. While the younger Visconti sibling genuinely loved his older brother, there was also a sense of jealousy. When he and Julius had been adopted by Dr. Rachel, the love had not been evenly spread. Though she tried to hide it, Julius was clearly her favorite of the two, as he was a perfect child in every sense of the phrase. Arthur was nowhere near that, no matter how much he tried. Training and academics only made things worse, as Julius seemed to get everything down by first try while Arthur felt like he was being left in the dust, with Julius being mentioned by many people in Atlas. It wasn't so much the fact that Julius did so well as much as it was the fact that everyone expected Arthur to do just as well. So, when the opportunity came to leave Atlas and go to Vale to attend Beacon Academy, Arthur took it with only the slightest bit of encouragement, which led him to his current place.

Pyrrha felt that she needed to remedy his mood that she seemed to be responsible for causing. "Arthur, I know you, not your brother. So, believe me when I say this, it doesn't matter what your brother's done or how useless you might think your Semblance is. You choose your destiny. Not your brother."

The laugh out of Arthur confused Pyrrha. "What is it?"

Arthur shook his head, though there was a genuine smile on his face. "Nothing. It's just, you said almost the exact same thing that someone else close to me said. Thanks for that."

"Really? Who?"

"My better half." Arthur smiled. "I'll have to introduce you sometime. But I digress, aren't we still in the middle of a spar?"

Pyrrha shifted back into her battle stance. "Ready when you are."

"Oh, now you're stealing people's words, is that it?" Arthur's grin matched Pyrrha's.

The two of them charged again. This time though, Arthur went in low before bringing his God Arc up in an uppercut (Tornado Rush). While the resulting hit knocked Pyrrha into the air, she remained steady, having blocked it in time.

That was when Arthur initiated the next part of his plan, once again running his hand along his God Arc before jumping into the air and transitioning from a somersault into a downward blow (Aspara Wheel) that would send Pyrrha into the ground.

The four-time champion caught the attack with her blade, though she was sent to the ground, still standing. As Arthur fell to the ground, he charged his body with aura before dashing through the air.

Pyrrha's eyes widened a bit as Arthur's God Arc came from one side only to come from a different side a second later after she blocked the first strike. She managed to block the second one, only for the third one to come from above. While she blocked that one as well, it didn't give her time to block the glancing blow that came from behind, which led to a fifth strike from in front of her meant to take advantage of her confusion.

That was when Arthur slipped. "Ah!"

The resulting misstep left Arthur tumbling to the ground. As he landed on his back, he found a spear in his face before it was retracted and a hand was offered instead.

"Damn. Almost thought I had you there." Arthur smiled as he took the hand. "I should have known better than to try gambling with an incomplete technique."

"Had you not slipped at the last second, you might have taken advantage of that opening and won." Pyrrha was smiling as well. "What was that technique? I've never seen you use it before."

"That was Sky Dance. It's a technique that's focused purely on maximizing mobility so that it appears that the user teleports from one spot to another. Normally, it's used with shorter blades, but I've been trying to adapt it to my God Arc, with mixed results as you can see."

Pyrrha thought back to that technique. "Well, it certainly is coming along nicely, though I might recommend slowing it down a bit."

"What, and let the spar go on for another thirty minutes? Are you forgetting how long some of our previous fights in the regional tournament have been?" Arthur asked.

No fight between the two of them had ever been a short one, with the least amount of time that either of them had spent fighting each other being twenty minutes. The longest they had ever fought for was an entire hour, the result being that most of the audience had fallen asleep by the time they finished.

Pyrrha thought about it for a moment. "Fair enough."

Arthur's scroll vibrated. "Excuse me for a second."

As the God Eater picked up his scroll, he almost dropped it in slight shock.

"What is it?"

"I'm late!" Arthur dashed out of the room, God Arc in hand.

Pyrrha was left confused. "Late for what?"

The only response appeared to be the sound of someone tripping and crashing into a wall. Pyrrha winced. For some reason, all of Arthur's finesse in fighting simply didn't transition over to his sense of balance in everyday life.

At the same time, Pyrrha liked having Arthur as a friend. It was a novel experience.

* * *

As it turned out, Arthur wasn't actually late for his video call with Yuno. Ciel had simply hacked into his scroll to change the time so that he would make it on time. He made a note in his head to thank Ciel later. The two were now deep in conversation regarding Team ACGN's most recent roommates.

"Dr. Rachel sent your birds over?" Yuno giggled.

Pepper chirped happily while Arthur glared at her before turning back to the screen. "Yep. Apparently, they've been pining for us, though I get the feeling that they just want free handouts. Don't deny it, you know it's true." The falcon had headbutted him lightly upon hearing the handouts comment.

Yuno smiled. "You seem to be fitting in well, Arthur."

"Only because you encouraged me to take the first step." Arthur smiled.

That got a blush out of Yuno. "Oh, hush. How are classes going."

Pepper flew up to a bedpost in irritation while Arthur slammed his face into the desk. "I actually like most of the classes for their material, but the homework makes me want to hit myself. Exams, I tell them! Just give me the exams!"

"Arthur, you know homework is still important." Yuno chided him.

Arthur sighed. "I know."

Yuno yawned. "Do you want to stay up for longer?"

Arthur gave her a look of slight exasperation. "Get some sleep, Yuno. Your tour around Remnant starts tomorrow, doesn't it?"

"Well, if my boyfriend insists, then I suppose I have to oblige him." Yuno smiled. "Though can you answer one more question for me, Arthur?"

"I always have time for more questions." Arthur replied.

"Why Beacon?" She asked.

Arthur shrugged. "Well, Atlas wasn't going to happen, Dr. Leah didn't want me to go to Vacuo, and you know I have reasons to avoid Haven."

Yuno nodded. She knew those reasons well. He had confided them to her ages ago. "So Beacon was your only choice?"

"Well, Dr. Rachel did suggest that I come here instead." Arthur smiled. "Plus, I heard from Dr. Leah that Professor Ozpin has been asking about having a team of God Eaters at Beacon. We were the most recent crew, so that probably put us in the prime spot for going to Beacon."

"Didn't you also want something like what you had in Mistral?" Yuno asked as she stifled another yawn.

"Kind of. Sleep looks like it would be good for you just about now." Arthur chuckled.

Yuno smiled. "Good night, Arthur."

Arthur smiled back. "I'll call you later, Yuno." He switched off the video call, just in time for another video call to appear on the screen. Recognizing the ID, Arthur hesitantly started the call.

Dr. Rachel's face appeared on screen, black veil and scar below her left eye right where he remembered. "I hope you're doing well, Arthur."

Arthur frowned. "Dr. Rachel."

"Come now, Arthur. Is that any way to greet your mother?"

"You say that like you expect me to forget my actual mother." Arthur bit back a sharper reply.

"Arthur, I would never dare ask such a thing of you." Rachel chided her adopted son. "I merely wish to see how the young man I raised is doing."

The younger Visconti's eyes narrowed. "I would be inclined to believe you, but I know for a fact that Julius has always been your primary focus. Isn't that right?"

Rachel raised her eyebrow in response. "Arthur, your brother was going through a difficult time in his life. I made a promise to your mother to be there for you and Julius. At the time, Julius required more attention. After all, he was about to start combat school and was at a transitional age in his life. It was important that someone looked after him."

"Which meant leaving me with Dr. Leah." Arthur noted.

"I was under the impression that you adored my sister." Dr. Rachel was slightly confused. "Do you not?"

Dr. Leah Claudius was the older sister of Dr. Rachel Claudius. A robotics engineer, Dr. Leah was responsible for developing the early prototypes of the Atlesian Paladin, having developed the piloting systems. She also spent more time taking care of Arthur than Rachel did, which led to her having a closer relationship to Arthur than her sister did.

"I do, more than you at the very least. I'd rather call her mother than you, which is rather unfortunate given that you're my legal mother. Which leads me to wonder, why did you even bother with adopting me if your sister was just as capable of taking care of your children."

"Arthur, there is no need for such hostility."

"You're right, there isn't. What is this call about?"

Dr. Rachel sighed, knowing that there was no way to break through Arthur's mindset. "I called to ask about the status of the God Eaters. General Ironwood wanted updates on performance. Were you all able to form a team together?"

Arthur nodded. "During initiation, Gil and Nana paired up while Ciel and I paired up as well. We made our way through initiation, finishing first and getting put together on a team. As of current, we operate under the title of Team ACGN, much like how Team JRWL (Jewel) and Team SKAY (Sky) formed up."

Rachel nodded. "Thank you, Arthur. Perhaps one day we can have a conversation that is purely recreational. Farewell."

As the call was switched off, Arthur leaned back before looking up, eyes focusing on nowhere.

"I suppose you never expected things to go this way when you left this world." He muttered.

* * *

 **And scene. I was originally going to put in more, but I was getting close to my chapter word limit and the extra stuff I wanted aren't exactly need-to-know at the moment.**

 **I'll probably be focusing the next few chapters on each individual God Eater in Team ACGN.**

 **One of the things I want to make clear early in this series is how strong each member of Team ACGN is. There are people stronger than them, and there are people weaker. In Arthur's case, Pyrrha is marginally stronger, but that margin is large enough that he has yet to beat her in a fight. Against many other people, Arthur can hold his ground quite well. I'll go over each member's situation in future chapters.**

 **Anyway, profile time. These will mainly be focused on OC's (This includes the birds), though I may include main characters depending on how they develop in the story. (Jaune will have one at some point).**

* * *

 **Name: Pepper**

 **Age: 4**

 **Species: Peregrine falcon**

 **Height: 17 inches**

 **Wingspan: 108 cm**

 **Weight: 1.01 kg**

 **Likes: High places, meat, Arthur Visconti, Ruby Rose**

 **Dislikes: Strangers, cats, dogs**

 **Semblance: Aerial maneuverability – While peregrine falcons as a whole are capable of hitting speeds over 200 miles per hour when diving, Pepper is unique in that she can make use of said speed outside of dives, being able to make sharp turns and pull out of dives even when going at speeds that shouldn't make it possible. The one weak point in this is that Pepper needs to dive first before she can hit breakneck speeds. She cannot reach those speeds without the help of gravity.**

 **Combat Description: While no one intended for Pepper to go into combat, she is quite capable of flying around and being a distraction to the enemy, given her ability to fly at rapid speeds.**

 **Trivia:**

 **Was unwittingly Evoked by Arthur after he spent years taking care of her.**

 **Is usually shy around large amounts of people, but will steel herself if it means spending time with Arthur. Ruby Rose is a unique exception to that rule.**

 **Was named 'Pepper' due to the spots on her chest. Arthur was not very creative when coming up with names, despite the Visconti Sword School having some of the more ridiculous names out there.**


	5. Chapter 4

**I said I would focus chapters on different members of Team ACGN, and I intend to stick to that promise.**

 **We're going to start out with Ciel Alencon, the C of Team ACGN as well as resident sniper and a literal radar. This is a bit more of a slice of life chapter. No big battles or anything for a bit.**

 **Also, Glimmer is based off Falchion from Fire Emblem: Awakening.**

* * *

Ciel Alencon stretched as she got off her top bunk before heading over to the showers. After taking said shower, she put on her clothes and walked over to where Bell was sleeping, smiling at the snowy owl that had just come back from hunting.

At the moment, she was the only one awake among all the members of Team ACGN. This was expected, seeing as she usually needed the least sleep out of everyone on the team to operate at optimal capacity. Granted, she was also the deepest sleeper when she did decide to go to bed, being almost impossible to wake up.

It had been a few weeks at Beacon, and Team ACGN had eventually settled into a schedule. Ciel would be the first one to wake up in the morning, followed by Gil, Arthur, and finally Nana. While the rest of them were getting ready, Ciel would head to the kitchen (which was conveniently located a bit further down next to Team JNPR's room) to prepare ingredients for breakfast. Usually, Gil would join her in making breakfast, as he was the most adept at using a skillet.

This morning, Nana was the first to reach the kitchen. This could be either a good or bad thing for breakfast, as Nana's meals tended to be either mind-numbingly delicious or tongue-curdling disgusting. Ciel was the type to follow instructions to the book when cooking while Gil would usually have subtle changes in the recipe to make it more delicious. Arthur was… for a lack of nicer words, incompetent in the kitchen. Sure, he could cook very basic meals, but anything beyond that meant that the team was going to have to go out and buy more food. He could follow instructions relatively well though, so he sometimes helped the others prepare food.

Fortunately for the team, Nana's omelets were on point this morning, so Ciel and Nana brought the dishes back to their room, which opened to the sight of Gil checking up on the God Arcs while Arthur stood in front of a mirror, adjusting his uniform before finally stopping once satisfied.

"Breakfast is ready." Ciel stated, passing plates to Arthur and Gil, who graciously accepted them.

"Thanks, Ciel. Did Nana make these omelets today?"

"Yup! Sure did. They turned out super good, so I went ahead and made myself two omelets!" Nana had a grin on her face.

Gil bit into the omelet, eyes widening in delight as the flavors hit his tongue. "You did a pretty great job with this, Nana."

"Thanks!"

"Arthur, we have sparring sessions today. I would recommend changing out of the school uniform." Ciel told him.

Arthur sighed before heading to the bathroom to change. A couple minutes later, he reappeared wearing a navy-blue coat that went down to his knees, a white collared shirt that was only buttoned up to his collarbone, and light khaki pants.

"That's better." Ciel nodded. "I may want your help as well with that one technique I was asking about."

"You mean the one that combined two techniques?" Arthur asked as he ate his omelet.

Ciel nodded. "Yes."

Arthur didn't say anything. Instead, he went over to one of the drawers and pulled it open before taking out a familiar sword in a sheath.

"And here I thought you were never going to use Glimmer again." Gil noted as he finished checking up his God Arc.

"If I'm going to be teaching Ciel, it's better that I use Glimmer. It's closer to the size of her God Arc." Arthur pointed out.

Gil nodded. "Fair point. I finished checking up the God Arcs. We can drop them off at the lockers before heading to our first class."

"Alright. Let's head out, then."

"Wait! I'm almost done!" Nana rushed to finish her second omelet.

Ciel laughed. "Take your time, Nana. We won't leave without you. Isn't that right, Arthur?"

"I don't know… it might be easier for her to catch up while we head there now."

Ciel turned to Arthur, eyebrow raised as she tried to decipher this sudden change in attitude.

"Ciel, that was a joke." Gil sighed.

"O-oh." Ciel blushed. Due to her upbringing, the adopted daughter of General Ironwood didn't have much experience with interacting with other people. Which often led to situations like the one above.

* * *

Sparring class went about as expected, with Professor Goodwitch having the students pair up with their partners. Ciel and Arthur took said opportunity to begin practicing, with Ciel attempting the technique while Arthur blocked and gave her pointers. So far, things were not going that well for Ciel.

"Your balance is off again." Arthur noted as he disarmed Ciel for the fifth time in class.

Currently, Arthur was trying to teach Ciel how to incorporate two different techniques into one. In particular, Swallow Ascent into Second Sunrise. Swallow Ascent was a technique that involved the user lunging forward with an upward strike meant to throw the opponent off balance. Second Sunrise was the second part of the technique that incorporated an upward slash that was reinforced by a mid-air backflip. The original Sunrise involved an uppercut that would throw the opponent off balance before finishing him off with the second upward slash. The current trial was a technique meant to replace the first strike with Swallow Ascent to increase the range of the attack. Ciel had successfully performed each technique separately, but she was having difficulty transitioning from one to another. So to have her practice, Arthur instructed her to begin with a few strikes to simulate combat before transitioning into the combined technique.

Ciel sighed. "I don't understand. It seems that no matter how many times I try, I can't transition into that final step."

"And I keep telling you the same thing: It's because your balance is off. Not just physically, but mentally as well. You keep trying to think through the entire process, which leads to you hesitating at that final step. And as long as you keep hesitating at that final step, you can't combine the techniques. Keep in mind that you don't have the luxury to think things through when facing a more skilled opponent like myself or Pyrrha." Arthur assumed his ready position, keeping his arms bent close to his chest while he positioned his grip so that Glimmer was pointing to the ground.

Ciel knew that in a real fight, she would have no chance against Arthur, so she was grateful for this opportunity. As far as aura went, Ciel was actually the weakest of everyone on Team ACGN. For reasons they could not fathom, her aura capacity was rather low and she regained even a small amount of aura rather slowly, with the amount of time it took exponentially increasing the more aura she lost. In a worst-case scenario, it would take more than a day if her aura was completely depleted.

It was for this reason that Ciel tended to stay as the backline of Team ACGN, preferring sniping to close-range combat. Her aura deficiency had come to light early on in her life, which had led General Ironwood to see if she could be signed up for the God Arc program early on so she could have a way to restore her aura during fights. By the time Arthur joined the program, she had been a God Eater for a year already. But that was a story for another time.

She sighed before initiating the fight again, prying with her attacks to find a weak point in Arthur's defense. Like usual, she fought patiently, looking for an opening. Unlike what usually went down though, she tried to make one this time, instead of trying to wait for Arthur to slip up.

To do that, she decreased the time between her attacks, incorporating thrusts in-between the slashes she performed, trying to throw Arthur off his game.

When she pulled the trigger on her God Arc and shot a bullet at him, that was when she saw Arthur's slip-up and pressed her advantage.

Ciel let out a shout as she charged her aura into her God Arc and stabbed forward, pushing Arthur back a couple meters. While he was still sliding, she initiated Swallow Ascent, charging forward with an upward slash that, judging by the sound of impact, knocked Glimmer to the side. Not even hesitating for a moment, Ciel used Second Sunrise, though instead of making contact with Arthur as expected, she heard the clang of metal against metal again.

As she landed, Arthur took the opportunity to rush in, spiking Ciel's hand with the handle of Glimmer, which forced her to drop her God Arc. They stood there for a moment before Arthur sheathed Glimmer and picked up Ciel's God Arc, handing it to her.

"As far as execution went, that was perfect. Opportunity to use it, not so much. Also, you could land that recovery better, though that's mainly on me for throwing you off." Arthur assessed.

Ciel was confused. "How? I saw you slip up once I changed the pattern of my attacks. Was that not the perfect moment?"

Arthur nodded. "Against almost anyone else, yes. But I faked that slip-up, which meant that when you knocked Glimmer out of my hand, it was in such a way that I could grab it out of the air and get ready while you were in the middle of Second Sunrise, which is why you were taken by surprise. Had you not charged your God Arc then, and instead just kept attacking, you may have been able to force an actual opening that could have won that skirmish. That's one of the keys to fighting, Ciel. Never fully commit to a single action unless it requires your complete concentration. And even then? Try to get to the point where you don't have to concentrate that hard."

Ciel nodded. "I understand. Thank you, Arthur."

"Alright, gather around, students." Professor Goodwitch called out. When everyone sat down, she continued. "We'll be starting sparring matches today to get you ready for upcoming events. To demonstrate, could I have Jaune Arc and Cardin Winchester come on stage?"

Arthur winced internally. "This is not going to end well."

Ciel could not disagree. What made it more unfortunate was that in the weeks following initiation, Team ACGN had become fast friends with both Team RWBY and Team JNPR. Seeing one of their friends get put into what was almost certainly going to be a one-sided beatdown was somewhat distressing.

Fortunately, the fight was stopped before Cardin dealt the finishing blow. During the time fighting, Ciel noticed that Jaune took more hits than she, Gil, and Arthur would have been able to take combined. _He must have quite a lot of aura to be able to hold his own like that._

She was snapped back to attention by Professor Goodwitch's announcement. "Remember, everyone, the Vytal Festival is only a few months away! It won't be long before students from the other kingdoms start arriving in Vale, so keep practicing! Those who choose to compete in the combat tournament will be representing all of Vale!"

The Vytal Festival, the biennial international event of Remnant, which celebrated cultures around the world with dances, parades, and most importantly, the tournament. The last three times that the tournament was held, teams that included God Eaters had consistently won the entire thing.

Dr. Rachel had been especially proud of her 'little achievement' as she put it, especially since she was responsible for putting teams of God Eaters on each of the continents. Team JRWL (Jewel) was her first team, situated in Atlas, that won the entire event both times they entered. Team SKAY (Sky) was the second one, situated in Haven, which had won the last Vytal Festival Tournament in convincing fashion. Team ACGN was the third team of God Eaters to be formed, being situated in Vale. While there hadn't been a team formed to go to Vacuo yet, Rachel was confident that there would be one in the next couple years. All that was needed was God Arc construction and candidates, many of which would come from the Magnolia Compass Orphanage.

The little-known fact about God Eaters was that almost all of them were orphans that were found by Dr. Rachel all around Remnant. If one were to list Team ACGN as an example, Ciel was an Atlas native, Nana was from Vale, Gil had been picked up on the streets of Vacuo, and Arthur, despite being Dr. Rachel's adopted son, was actually a Mistrali native, though he had lived in Atlas for almost eight years before coming to Beacon. Each team of God Eaters was similar in this manner, with their members being from at least three continents each. Excellence was expected of them, even if Dr. Rachel emphasized that losing did not make them any less valuable. Given the intensity of the competition this year, Ciel had to agree.

If there was a year that a different team could take the Vytal cup from the hands of God Eaters, it would be this year. Pyrrha Nikos was a monster to be reckoned with, and Team JNPR was made up of mostly formidable opponents, while the potential that Team RWBY had was unprecedented, even by Ciel's standards. Then there was Dr. Polendina's project that promised to be one of the most devastating opponents out there.

If anyone wanted Ciel's honest opinion though, the only people mentioned that she thought could fight with Arthur and win would be Pyrrha and P.E.N.N.Y.

Granted, it could never hurt to watch out for prospective opponents. After all, it wasn't like she knew all the competition.

* * *

Lunch was a somber experience, not counting Nora, Nana, and Yang, who all seemed to attach themselves to Nora's story/dream that Ren kept correcting. What did have more people worried was the mood of Team JNPR's leader, who seemed out of it after the one-sided beatdown he had received.

Even Ciel noticed the change in atmosphere, which given her general lack of experience in that department, meant a lot.

Pyrrha decided to breach the topic first. "Jaune, are you ok?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah! Why?"

"It's just, you seem a little… not okay."

"Guys, I'm fine. Seriously! Look!"

The thumbs-up and nervous smile did not convince anyone. It didn't help that down the room, Team CRDL was picking on a faunus with rabbit ears who Ciel recognized as one of their classmates in history.

"Wow, you really are loving your time here." Gil's sarcasm was almost palpable from down the table where he was sitting by Ren.

Pyrrha tried again. "Jaune, Cardin's been picking on you since the first week of school!"

"Who? Cardin Winchester? Nah... He just likes to mess around! You know, practical jokes!"

Ruby's eyebrows tilted in a show of small anger. "He's a bully."

Ciel was inclined to agree, though she wasn't certain what exactly they could do.

Arthur seemed to have an idea. "Weiss, can I borrow your apple? I'll get you another one in the next couple minutes."

Weiss was confused, but obliged. "Um, sure?"

Ciel was confused as well, though for different reasons. "Arthur, you don't like apples."

"Who said I was eating it?"

No one expected Arthur to stand up, assume a pitcher's stance, and chuck the apple at a speed of approximately 120 mph. The apple nailed Cardin Winchester right in the side of the head, leaving a huge welt and knocking him into the table face-first. Arthur was sitting down before any of the bullies noticed.

"Alright, who threw that?" Cardin snarled. As he looked around the room, Arthur signaled to Nana to grab two more apples.

"Did you just peg Cardin Winchester with an apple from halfway across the cafeteria?" Everyone not in Team ACGN had their mouths slightly open in surprise.

Arthur looked at them, frowning. "What? It's not like that was a difficult throw. Besides, I really don't like bullies and I also don't like apples. Two birds with one stone."

"And why did you decide to use my apple?" Weiss was a bit miffed.

"It was the closest reasonably-sized object that I could throw." Arthur admitted sheepishly.

As Cardin walked around the room, trying to find the culprit, Nana finally returned with two more apples, passing one to Weiss and another to Arthur. That was the leader of Team CRDL zeroed in on a potential suspect.

"You know, I get this feeling that I'm getting close to whoever threw that apple." Cardin's voice was intentionally loud, as Jaune was in his hearing range. The tone promised all sorts of trouble for the leader of Team JNPR. At least, until another apple hit Cardin in the head, though nowhere near as fast.

"Shut up, Cardin. You're being annoying." Arthur commented off-handedly, acting as if he didn't care.

That made him whirl around quickly. "You want to start something, Visconti?" He snarled.

Arthur shrugged. "I'm not a fan of one-sided beatdowns."

"If you don't like them, why don't you apologize—"

"But if you're willing, I'll fight you and your team by myself during sparring class. Heaven knows you're going to need all the handicaps you can get." Arthur had to resist the urge to smirk.

Ciel's brain started whirring at that sentence, trying to see if Arthur could fight Team CRDL by himself and win. After concluding that he could, she then proceeded to figure out how long the fight would take. It was one of Ciel's many talents, being able to predict the outcomes of fights based on battle prowess.

Her analysis finally finished as she concluded that Arthur would take five minutes at most. And that was only if he took a slower approach to the fight. Ciel could count the number of people that she knew would make Arthur take things slower on one hand, and none of those people were on Team CRDL.

"Why you—"

"What? You think I'm bluffing? Next sparring class, go ahead and issue the challenge. Your entire team against me." Arthur put his palms on his cheek. "Who knows? Maybe I'll get warmed up off you guys."

Cardin stormed off in anger, with the rest of Team CRDL following after him.

Arthur resumed eating his lunch as if nothing had happened. "The thing about bullies is that once they confront someone stronger than them, they turn into all bark and no bite." That's when he noticed everyone staring at him. "What?"

"You really don't like bullies, do you?" Yang asked.

"You should have seen Arthur back at the orphanage." Gil chuckled. "He got into fights with bullies quite a few times."

"At least a quarter of those fights were with you when you first came to the orphanage, Gil." Nana remarked. "I don't think anyone ever got on Arthur's nerves quite as much as you did back then."

Gil protested. "Hey, I've mellowed out since then."

"Is this a regular occurrence?" Pyrrha asked Arthur.

"More than you would believe." The leader of Team ACGN sighed.

* * *

During history class, Ciel had to resist the urge to palm her forehead. While there were a few other students that were misbehaving or being downright disrespectful in the classroom, Arthur was easily the worst at the moment. While Jaune was simply resisting the urge to fall asleep, Arthur had given up all pretense and was sleeping with his head down on the desk. To top it off, he and Ciel were sitting in the front row of the middle section, in literally the closest spot to the teacher's desk. His only saving grace in this class was that he maintained a solid ninety-five percent in the class, which he could attribute to the fact that he enjoyed history. His current state of exhaustion was the result of staying up late getting more training done. Fortunately for her sanity, Nana and Gil didn't have this class with them, being put in a different class session. Ciel liked it this way. Though her grades were good, Nana tended to goof while Gil's behavior made Ciel want to let out some frustration. They often had to help Gil catch up with his work if it wasn't engineering class, which he had no competition in.

Fortunately for Arthur, Dr. Oobleck was engrossed in teaching at that moment. The topic of the day? Faunuses. And coffee. Though in retrospect, coffee seemed to be an everyday thing.

"Yes! Yes, prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution-more popularly known as the Faunus War, humankind was quite, quite adamant about centralizing Faunus population in Menagerie. Now! While this must feel like ancient history to many of you, it is imperative to remember that these are relatively recent events! Why, the repercussions of the uprising can still be seen to this day! Now! Have any among you been subjugated or discriminated because of your Faunus heritage?"

As the hands went up, Ciel frowned. She had never been one to be aware of her the social oppression around her, so the fact that there were even hands raised distressed her a bit. Especially when the faunus next to her raised her hand.

"Dreadful, simply dreadful! Remember, students, it is precisely this kind of ignorance that breeds violence! I mean, I mean, I mean just look at what happened to White Fang! Now, which one of you young scholars can tell me what many theorize to be the turning point in the third year of the War? Yes?"

"The Battle at Fort Castle." Weiss had a small smile on her face from getting the question right first.

Oobleck seemed to get more excited as he consumed more coffee. "Precisely! And, who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagune's forces?"

It often amazed Ciel how much coffee Dr. Oobleck consumed in a single class. If she were to guess, he could probably drink through the team's coffee supply in forty minutes.

It was at that moment that Ciel noticed Cardin flicking a paper football at Jaune's head and she knew things were not about to end well.

Said football was enough to wake up Jaune. "Hey!"

Unfortunately for the Arc, that moment was noticed by Dr. Oobleck. "Mr. Arc! Finally contributing to class! This is excellent! Excellent! What is the answer?"

"Uhhhh... The answer... The advantage... that the Faunus… had over that guy's stuff..."

Ciel started panicking and nudging Arthur, trying to wake him up.

"Uhh... Binoculars!"

Laughter from most of the class and facepalms from Ciel, Pyrrha, and Blake followed along.

"Very funny, Mr. Arc. Cardin! Perhaps you would like to share your thoughts on the subject?" Dr. Oobleck turned his focus to the bully.

"Well, I know it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier."

Had Arthur been awake at that moment, he probably would have disagreed. Pepper had been a pain to train. Pyrrha had to be the voice of disagreement in his place.

"You're not the most open-minded of individuals, are you, Cardin?"

Cardin took offense. "What, you have a problem?"

"No, I have the answer." The redhead turned to Doctor Oobleck to answer, though he stopped her before she could say anything.

"Ah, splendid, Miss Nikos. However, there is one more person that needs to focus. Arthur!"

Arthur was up in a heartbeat. "Yes, Doctor Oobleck?"

Ciel winced. It didn't help that her hearing was rather sensitive as well, so loud voices within a couple feet of her tended to give her an earache.

"Can you tell me what advantage the Faunus had over General Lagune's forces during the Battle at Fort Castle?"

Arthur closed his eyes to force out sleep before putting his finger to the side of his head in thought. "While I want to nitpick on how Fort Castle is a redundant name, I can try to answer the question first."

"Are you saying that you don't know, Mister Visconti?"

Arthur shook his head. "I haven't read that far in the textbook yet. Though if I were to guess, it would have something to do with how faunuses have enhanced senses, which humans lack for the most part. The most decisive advantages in battle always have to do with knowing your enemy, so being able to see enemy movements is extremely important. There were probably faunuses with raptor-like qualities which would allow them to spot the enemy from far away and prepare accordingly."

The professor grinned. "An impressive deduction, Mister Visconti, though not quite correct. Close, though. Miss Nikos, your answer?"

Ciel breathed a sigh of relief before kicking Arthur in the leg. There was a sharp intake of breath as Arthur avoided letting out a sound.

"Why?" He hissed at her.

Ciel's reply came promptly. "Because you were being irresponsible."

"I was getting much needed sleep!"

"At a time that you weren't supposed to?"

Arthur sighed. "Point. Want to get some more training in after class today? I want to try out something new."

"Why not tomorrow?" Ciel asked. She was still a little bit salty after how handily Arthur kept disarming her during Professor Goodwitch's class.

"I can't do tomorrow. We have that project to work on. And the day after, I'll be sparring with Pyrrha." Arthur explained. "Besides, you're better as far as observing goes. We can go to the shooting range later to test out those bullets that you made."

Now that was something Ciel couldn't resist.

* * *

Ruby caught Arthur and Ciel as they left a training room. "Hey guys, what are you doing?"

"Shooting range. Want to come with us?" Arthur asked. "Ciel's testing out some new bullets."

New weapons were always a green light for Ruby to get excited, which she did in impressive fashion, dashing over to Ciel from where she was standing before anyone could blink. "What kind of new bullets? Did you buy them from somewhere? Who's the supplier?"

Arthur yanked on Ruby's hood to pull her back. "Slow down. First things first, it's a surprise. Second, Ciel doesn't buy ammunition. She only buys bullet casings."

Ruby looked at Ciel, a possibility ticking at her brain as she wondered what Arthur meant. "You make your own bullets?"

Ciel's expression was bright. "Of course. There's so many possibilities in modifying bullets if you know how to make it work, especially for different kinds of weapons. Given how many different weapons are used by our team, it's important that we test out every single possibility."

"Can I watch?" Ruby asked enthusiastically.

Ciel nodded, a happy expression on her face. "Of course! Come now, we should be off to the firing range."

Arthur leaned over to whisper to Ruby. "Modifying bullets is Ciel's favorite thing to do."

"I kind of figured." Ruby whispered back as they followed Ciel, though she stopped for a second as Arthur seemed to trip on air. "Umm, Arthur? How does this always happen?"

"Believe me, Ruby. I have asked myself that question since I was old enough to be coherent."

When they got to the range, Ciel started loading bullets into her God Arc and pulled out her scroll. "We'll start with the first one. Arthur, can you set up the targets?"

Arthur nodded before pressing a button on one of the interfaces in the room. A set of targets appeared at the end of the range. "They're ready for you whenever you want, Ciel."

The sniper nodded before closing her eyes and putting her hand to the ground. Ruby looked on confused for a moment.

It then occurred to the scythe-wielder that Ciel's God Arc had no scope. Which begged the question: How was she supposed to aim? Ruby could barely make out the targets at the end of the range, and she knew she would be extremely lucky to hit those without the scope on Crescent Rose.

She was just about to ask when Ciel stood up, eyes open, and fired a series of shots into the sky. Ruby watched in amazement as the bullet suddenly curved downward and hit the target in question.

Arthur pulled up a screen and showed it Ruby, who noticed that Ciel had hit the bullseye dead center.

"Wha- how?"

Ciel didn't get what Ruby was asking. "I crafted these bullets making use of gravity dust. The bullet triggers the dust after a set amount of time, which results in the curve."

"No, I mean, that's super cool, but how did you hit the bullseye?" Ruby asked.

Arthur explained. "Ciel's Semblance is Intuit. She can sense the world around her."

"Umm, what?" Ruby didn't register the words.

Arthur sighed. "She's a souped-up radar. When she puts her hand to the ground, she can see an overlay of pretty much everything around her."

"Ohh. Is that why she doesn't use a scope?" Ruby asked.

"Pretty much, though she could just as easily do that with the scope."

"Arthur, we're ready to go on to the second bullet." Ciel remarked.

Arthur nodded. "Right, one second. You want to try out the next bullet, Ruby?"

"Can I really?" Ruby's eyes sparkled.

"Well, I suppose I should ask the maker first. Ciel?"

Ciel smiled. "Of course. I'll go set up the next target."

The next target in question turned out to be a replicated Ursa Major, which given how it was made, was a difficult target for many shooters due to how the plating covered its body. Ruby took the time to load the bullet into Crescent Rose, grinning at the prospect of blowing up stuff.

"Take the shot whenever you feel like it." Ciel called out.

Ruby complied, firing the shot at the target. As the bullet neared the target, Ruby's eyes widened in expectation. Said expectation was quickly shut down in disappointment as the bullet embedded itself rather deep into the target and did nothing else.

"Umm, what?"

"Give it a moment."

That moment was all that was needed, as the Ursa exploded in spectacular fashion.

"Nothing quite like a delayed explosion, don't you agree?" Arthur said as Ruby's eyes went wide in excitement. "The effects are far more powerful than your average explosive bullet, despite having the same kick, because unlike outer layers which can take a long and extended beating, the insides don't have that same defense built up."

"I took an armor piercing round, and loaded it with fire dust in a way that would allow the bullet to embed itself in the Grimm before a timer would set off the dust, creating that explosion."

"That is so cool! Any other bullets?" Ruby asked.

Arthur nodded. "Ciel, if you would?"

"Of course." Ciel pressed some more buttons on the datapad managing the range.

With that, multiple targets appeared over a widespread area. Arthur loaded a round into his God Arc and aimed it at the sky before pulling the trigger. Ruby watched in anticipation as the round flew up, a glowing mass of orange, before it burst in midair and fire rained down on the field, scorching the area and setting all the targets alight. As the leader of Team RWBY squealed in delight, Ciel was busy making an assessment.

"Hmm. Damage appears to be rather widespread. If I adjust the trajectory and dust concentrations in the bullet, I should be able to concentrate the affected area into a tighter radius." Ciel muttered as she wrote down notes on her scroll. "Oh? There's a message from the school."

Arthur looked over Ciel's shoulder, reading the message. "Attention first-years. Due to changes in the curriculum, we were planning to incorporate a new weekly strategy and tactics class that would be filled by three teams in any given session. Due to difficulties in finding a teacher, the school was unable to have this class available at the start of the year. This last week, we were able to find a qualified individual from Atlas to fill the spot, though he prefers to remain anonymous until he starts teaching. Classes will begin this next week and schedules have been updated on your scrolls.

Ruby took out her scroll, looking at her school schedule. "Hey, we're in the same group as Team JNPR and you guys. Um, guys?" She turned to see small frowns on Arthur and Ciel's faces.

"'A qualified individual from Atlas'…" Arthur mused. "I wonder who it could be."

"I can't think of anyone who would be a teacher either." Ciel agreed.

"I've actually been meaning to ask a question, guys." Ruby repeated, trying to get their attention.

That snapped one of them out of it. "Oh, anything you need, Ruby?" Arthur asked.

Ruby nodded. "Do you guys name your God Arcs like how other people name their weapons?"

Arthur nodded with a smile. "Of course. Ciel's God Arc is called Defiance, Gil's is called Heritage, and Nana's is called Collapse."

"What about yours?" Ruby asked.

The expression on Arthur's face changed to an emotion that she didn't recognize, though it did seem rather positive. "Songbird. What's your scythe called?"

Ruby uncurled her scythe and started cuddling it. "This is Crescent Rose. I built her myself."

"And why are you cuddling it?" Arthur asked, slightly weirded out.

"Seeing new weapons is like meeting new people, only better." Ruby smiled.

Arthur and Ciel had the sense of mind not to comment on that.

"By the way, are there any more bullets?" Ruby asked.

"Not today. Those three were the only ones I had finished. If you want, you can come by some other time so I can show you the other bullets I've made."

"Really?" Only a second after dimming, Ruby's eyes were once again sparkling.

"Really." Arthur nodded, suppressing a smile. Ruby was like a kid in a candy shop. Only instead of candy, it was weapons.

* * *

Two days later, Arthur met up with Pyrrha for a sparring session after classes got out. Things were different from usual, though, which was evident from the first few hits.

Arthur parried another strike before calling a time-out. "Alright, what's bothering you?"

"Huh?" Pyrrha was confused. "What do you mean?"

"Pyrrha, as far as fighters go, I know you better than I know anyone else outside my team. Which means that I know if you're trying. There has been literally no weight behind your swings in the last five minutes. Something's distracting you." Arthur popped open his water bottle.

Pyrrha sighed. Arthur had her. "It's just… Jaune."

Arthur nodded sagely. "I see. Anything in particular?"

"He started hanging out with Cardin today."

Arthur choked on the water. "I'm sorry, what? He's spending more time with the guy that bullies and probably exploits him? Is he crazy? Why would he do that? Blackmail?"

Pyrrha hesitated. "Possibly."

"I was joking." Arthur frowned before noticing the lack of change in Pyrrha's expression. "You're not joking. You know something."

"Yes." Pyrrha's eyes narrowed a bit.

Arthur raised his hands. "I'm not going to ask what it is. It's not my place to pry. All I want to know is how you're doing and exactly how concerned you are."

Surprised by the concern, Pyrrha froze for a moment before sighing. "He's my partner. Of course, I'm concerned. Also…"

"Also?" Arthur raised his eyebrow, wondering where she was going with this.

"He didn't know who I was when we first met. Not even my name." Pyrrha said.

Five seconds of blinking later, Arthur opened his mouth, slightly shocked. "He didn't know."

"Nope."

"Despite looking like the type of guy to eat Pumpkin Pete's every day for breakfast?"

"That's right."

The God Eater gaped. "How? You're considered a world-class fighter for crying out loud. There's a reason you're on the cereal box and not me."

"You're one as well. And the only reason you're not on the box more often is because you declined the deal after the first year."

After their second consecutive final showdown, both Arthur and Pyrrha had been offered deals with Pumpkin Pete's. The sponsorship had been nice, though Arthur declined to continue after the first year. It mainly had to do with the fact that Arthur would have had to keep flying down to Mistral if he decided to continue working with them. He decided to spare Dr. Rachel's wallet the expenses. Also because he refused to endorse health hazards in a box.

"True, but my point stands. How'd it feel to not have to deal with idol worship for once?" Arthur asked.

"It was… nice. You know the problem with being put on a pedestal, right?"

Arthur sighed. He knew all too well. "You either end up being separated from the people that put you there or you get compared with all the other people that were put on that pedestal before you, and get told how you're either never going to match them or that they have high expectations for you."

They resumed their sparring then, but kept the pace casual so they could talk.

"You've had your fair share, haven't you?" Pyrrha noted. The way Arthur spoke implied experience.

Arthur nodded. "For me, that pedestal was originally occupied by my brother. Being a younger sibling isn't conducive to your health when everyone expects you to be like your older brother, who's a prodigy. I managed to escape though."

"How so?" Pyrrha asked, curious. Maybe this was something that could have helped her.

"God Eater teams are formed in the first year of primary combat school." Arthur explained. "It's thanks to them that I started coming around. But what really helped me was having someone that I could trust inherently."

Pyrrha blinked as their blades locked again. "Ciel?"

"Ciel." Arthur confirmed. "We always have each other's backs for a reason. I helped her to connect with the people around her, she helped me by always being there to listen."

"Is she…" Pyrrha began, only to be cut off by Arthur.

"I've already told you, no. Ciel and I are practically siblings. It would be strange for us to start dating."

That wasn't helpful. "So, what do I do with Jaune? He helped me connect with the rest of my team, but he won't accept any help at all."

There were many times in Arthur Visconti's life that he knew loneliness. But Pyrrha's loneliness? That was something he had only ever seen, never felt.

Arthur frowned, letting his arms drop to his side. "Honestly? I can't think of any solutions. Though, I can tell you one thing. You shouldn't let your life revolve around Jaune, no matter how much you like him."

"What do you—" Pyrrha froze at that moment, treating Arthur to the hilarious sight of her gaping. "I do not have feelings for him!"

"The red on your face would beg to differ. If it was any darker, it'd probably be impossible to tell the difference between your hair and face."

"Wha—" That was when Pyrrha realized that her face was burning. "N-no! I'm just—"

Arthur sighed. "Pyrrha, I have a girlfriend. I'm also way more sensitive to feelings than pretty much any other guy in existence, aside from Gil. So, I am in the perfect position to recognize the signs when I exhibited them myself before I began dating."

"What signs?"

"Let's see… the way you look at him, the amount of care you show him, the fact that you've been genuinely smiling— don't look at me like that, I know what your fake smile looks like. Should I go on?"

Pyrrha sighed in defeat. Arthur was right, after all. "What do I do, then?"

"Simple. Remember that even if Jaune wasn't here now, you still have friends. You have Nora, you have Ren, you also have Ruby and her team, and you also have depressing ol' me and my team. You're not alone anymore, Pyrrha. None of us care about your pedestal. Okay, maybe Weiss cares a bit. But the rest of us don't. You know why? It's because we're friends with the current Pyrrha. Not Pyrrha Nikos, the four-time Mistrali champion. Not the valedictorian of Sanctum Academy. Not the expert of kicking Arthur Visconti's butt— yeah, yeah. Laugh it up." Arthur rolled his eyes a bit at the giggle that came out of Pyrrha's mouth. "But that's my point. We're friends with you as you are now. That's who you are now. My sparring partner, the P of Team JNPR, the quirky girl that has her moments. It's like my brother likes to say. We've forged friendships that will last a lifetime. Sure, they're not perfect. Nothing ever is. But they're what define us. So here's what you do for Jaune. You wait for him to come back. And when he does, you don't chastise him or make him hate himself. You welcome him back with open arms, and remind him that you have his back; as both a partner and friend."

That gave her thought. And for the first time in a couple weeks, Arthur saw the genuine Pyrrha smile. Not the forced one that she used for so many people, but the one that she reserved for friends and family.

"Thanks, Arthur."

"Anytime, Pyrrha." Arthur smiled before resuming a ready stance. "How about we get back into what we're doing? I still need to get my first win."

Pyrrha grinned back, assuming a battle stance as well. "You're going to have to wait until a later date. By the way, you have my mother's approval."

"As a sparring partner or a suitor?" Arthur asked, a cheeky grin on his face. "Because I'm not sure I want to be the second one. Especially since you're taller than me."

Normally, that was one of Pyrrha's sore spots. Now, she was in too improved of a mood to care. As they rushed each other, neither fighter could get rid of their smiles.

Friends were truly a blessing in the darkest of times.

* * *

Ciel had to say, she was enjoying the field trip to Forever Fall. The colors were brilliant, and the sap from the trees smelled heavenly, and she and Arthur had obtained a decent amount of samples for Professor Peach's assignment. That was when things started going wrong.

It started with her unconsciously sensing three people running their direction, followed by screams of "Ursa! Ursa!"

Yang grabbed the guy before asking. "What? Where?"

The guy (Ciel forgot his name) pointed back from where he came from. "Back there! It's got Cardin!"

Pyrrha dropped the jar of sap in her hand, worry for her leader appearing on her face. "Jaune!"

Ruby was the first to act. "Yang, you and Blake, go get Professor Goodwitch!"

"You two, go with them. There could be more." Pyrrha told Ren and Nora.

"There are." Ciel had her hand to the ground, frowning. "There's two group of ten dreadpikes each coming this direction. They must have smelled the sap being drained."

A bipedal beetle-like creature, dreadpikes were an uncommon breed of Grimm. While not of the same rarity as something like the sinensis, they were less common than beowolves. As individuals, any other Grimm would provide a larger threat, as the dreadpike's only method of attacking was lunging forward, which was rather predictable. But as with any Grimm, skill meant nothing if you could overwhelm the enemy with numbers.

Arthur sighed. "When one thing goes wrong, everything goes wrong. Ciel, you and Nana go take care of the dreadpikes coming from one direction. Gil and I will handle the other group."

Ciel nodded. "Understood."

As the two groups ran towards their respective targets, the first dreadpike appeared in front of the C and N of Team ACGN. Nana didn't even hesitate before bringing her hammer down, completely flattening the Grimm. "Ciel, I've got the ground. Cover me from above!"

Ciel acknowledged the order, hopping into the branches of a tree and loading her armor piercing rounds. She and Nana made a mess of the dreadpikes, showing them no mercy. With Ciel covering long-range and Nana covering close range, the dreadpikes were no match.

There were a few times in the past where Ciel had cursed her lack of aura. But after everything that Team ACGN had been through together after they had first formed almost four years ago, no one could say that the team forming was a mistake. Everyone had their role to play, and they all did splendidly in their roles.

As Ciel shot down another dreadpike, she noticed one that Nana had missed about to charge her. Taking the initiative, Ciel hopped down from the tree before launching herself forward, knocking the dreadpike up with Swallow Ascent before following up with Second Sunrise. As she landed, she ignored the last dreadpike that tried to hit her from behind, leaving it to Nana to send it flying into dust.

Their job finished, Nana pumped her fist into the air. "We did it! That last move you did was so cool!"

"I couldn't have done it without Arthur." Ciel had to thank Arthur for all that training.

"Yeah, but you learned something new. That's incredible!"

Ciel smiled. "Quite. Come now, Nana. Arthur and Gil just finished up. There's still that Ursa to deal with."

They only made it in time to see the rest of the team walking their direction, a small grin on Arthur's face.

"Did something happen?" Nana asked.

"Well, I don't think Cardin will be bullying Jaune ever again." Gil commented, looking back. "He managed to take down that Ursa Major all by himself."

Ciel had to take a few seconds to register the comment. "Jaune did that?"

"He had a bit of help from Pyrrha, but don't tell him that." Arthur said. "It's better that he thinks he did it himself for now."

Ciel nodded. "Understood. By the way, Arthur. Why are you smiling so much?"

"Let's see… a bully gets what's coming to him, Jaune standing up for himself, a decent amount of Grimm destroyed, what's there not to be happy about?"

"Umm, guys? We left the jars of sap back in the forest." Nana destroyed the mood in a single sentence.

Suffice to say, no one on Team ACGN passed Professor Peach's assignment.

* * *

 **Holy moly this went a good four thousand words over what I was originally planning to write down. I did not expect to write this much, though I suppose part of this is what I get for planning too far ahead and wanting to include more material. Don't expect this much in a chapter on a regular basis.**

 **I would say next chapter won't be as long (for the sake of my sanity), but I am not good at making promises.**

 **The original plan was to introduce the new instructor in this chapter, though I'll have that at the start of next chapter. Which by the way, will put a bit more focus on Jaune. I know, I said I would focus on OC's, but Jaune's getting a bit more love in this story.**

 **To that one person that reviewed: You'll just have to wait and see.**

 **Anyways, the new professor isn't really meant to be a big reveal, so I'll stick his profile down below.**

* * *

 **Name: Lindow Amamiya**

 **Age: 30**

 **Eye Color: Light Green**

 **Hair Color: Black**

 **Color Theme: White/Grey**

 **Emblem: Crescent Moon (organization emblem)**

 **Height: 6'1**

 **Likes: Jokes, teaching, and his family**

 **Dislikes: Missions that take more than a week, processed corn, and his age**

 **Equipment: God Arc – Long Blade, Assault Gun, no shield.**

 **Semblance: Relax – Can calm people down. Is also permanently affected by his own Semblance, which makes people irritated whenever he doesn't take something seriously (basically everything).**

 **Combat Description: As far as missions go, Lindow is one of the best field commanders, with his casualty count being the lowest among any Atlas personnel. However, his ability as a field commander belies his ability to fight. In terms of skill, Lindow is a match for the likes of Qrow Branwen and Winter Schnee. He is deceptively fast for having a one of the largest long blade God Arcs.**

 **Trivia:**

 **The first member of the God Eater program.**

 **Is married to Sakuya Tachibana, who is also a God Eater, and has a 3-year old son by the name of Ren.**

 **Used to have a fear of the moon when he was a child**

 **Was mentored by Solei Visconti, and mentored Arthur.**

 **Is extremely sentimental.**


	6. Chapter 5

**So much reorganizing of order of events. I think I'm going to go insane at this rate.**

 **Anyways, brownie points to anyone who can figure out who the members of Team JRWL and SKAY are.**

* * *

The next time Team JNPR, RWBY, and ACGN all met up together, it was for their strategy and tactics class. When they got into the classroom, Weiss recognized it right away.

"This is the simulation room." Weiss breathed in wonder. "It's normally supposed to be used only for third years and above. This is amazing!"

"It better be. It took Ozpin a long time to agree to letting me teach in this classroom." A voice said from the door.

Arthur didn't believe his ears. Turning to the door, he saw a man on the brink of thirty walking into the classroom. He had neck-long hair and was wearing a white and grey jacket with a crescent moon on its back.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, professor?" Weiss did a small curtsy, though she looked uncertain. "Forgive me, but you don't look the part of a teacher."

"Nice to meet you, too. And I get that a lot. Don't sweat it." The man smiled before turning to Arthur, who was still dumbstruck. "Hey, Arthur. Betcha didn't expect to see me here."

That got everyone else's attention. "Arthur, do you know him?"

"Know him? He did a lot better than know him." Gil laughed. "Lindow was Arthur's mentor back when he first joined the God Eater program, both in the Visconti Sword School and as a God Eater."

"What?!"

Lindow scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, Arthur's mother was actually my teacher when I first came to the school. Imagine my surprise a couple years later when I find out I'm Arthur's mentor in the God Eater program. I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Lindow Amamiya, the new strategy and tactics professor here at Beacon."

"Does that make you a God Eater as well?" Pyrrha asked, intrigued.

"Well, I guess so."

Arthur snorted in derision. "Sure, if you say so, Mr. First God Eater."

"The first God Eater?! But he's so young!"

Arthur looked over at them. "So? My adoptive mother first came up with the idea for the God Eater program when she was ten. She's only twenty-nine right now. Lindow's age has nothing to do with the fact that he's the first God Eater."

"As fun as it would be to tell you all my life story, we should get onto talking about class." Lindow interrupted them.

"Oh, right! Is there anything we should know, Mr. Amamiya? Or should I call you Professor Amamiya?" Pyrrha asked.

Lindow blanched. "Just call me Lindow. Arthur's not going to use formalities and neither should any of you. Besides, I'm far too young for people to be calling me Mr."

"Says the married guy with a three-year old son that he absolutely adores." Arthur muttered under his breath.

"Don't you dare go there, Arthur." Lindow warned.

Arthur grinned. "Why? You do realize I have plenty of blackmail on you, right?"

"I will reveal your darkest secrets if you go there."

That made the leader of Team ACGN blanch. "On second thought, I seem to have forgotten all the blackmail."

"Tragic, really." Lindow nodded. "Anyway, let's get started. In this class, I'll be teaching you all how to properly assess situations and take the approaches best suited to your teams. For now, I just want you to all go around in a circle and list your names, equipment, and skills that you have, like Semblances. That goes for you God Eaters as well. Just because I know you personally does not mean that everyone here knows you as well. I'm looking at you, Arthur."

Arthur sighed. _No getting out of talking about my Semblance, huh?_

He'd go talk with Yuno later. That always did a lot of good for him.

* * *

After his grand showing in Forever Fall, Jaune finally felt like everything was coming back together. It didn't look like Cardin was going to bully him anymore, Pyrrha was talking to him again, and to top it off, she had also agreed to train him.

That being said, Jaune decided to press his luck. After all, it couldn't hurt, could it?

"Say, Pyrrha? I know you're training me now, but are there other ways for me to get stronger?"

Pyrrha thought for a moment. It was a valid point. After all, it was only her that would be training him for now. She could always find more mentors for different subjects.

"Well, I'll be training you physically, so I suppose we could have someone teach you how to use your aura… Oh!"

Aura control was always difficult to learn, and while the process to activating aura remained consistent, the way said aura was used varied from person to person. That said, it wasn't impossible to teach it. While teachers could probably teach the subject, it was highly unlikely that they would have extra time to mentor Jaune. Which meant that if someone else was going to help with teaching Jaune, it would have to be a student. There was one student in the school that utilized aura better than anyone else. And Pyrrha knew exactly who it was. After all, she had spent years getting to know his fighting style intimately.

"What? What is it?"

Pyrrha grinned. "I know just the guy."

Jaune wasn't sure if his lucky streak was still going, or if he had just gotten himself into training from hell.

* * *

"Umm, guys? What are you doing?" Team RWBY was surprised to see Ciel, Gil and Nana right outside the Team ACGN room instead of going in.

"Arthur's in a video call right now. We're giving him some space while he talks with his girlfriend." Gilbert explained.

That made them pause. "Arthur has a girlfriend?" Ruby asked, curious. She had never been one to pay attention to Yang's prying into Arthur's love life.

"Indeed. They make an effort to call each other at least once every week." Ciel nodded.

"I see… so, who's the girl?" Yang asked with a more mischievous tone, hoping that she could finally get the answer.

Weiss sighed disapprovingly. "Yang, if Arthur wants to keep these calls private, I doubt even his team would know who she is—"

Nana cut off Weiss, having not heard her. "Oh, he's dating Yuno Ashihara. You know, the idol?"

Ciel pinched the bridge of her nose. "Nana…"

The pink God Eater looked at Ciel, confused. It was then she turned to Team RWBY and found that they were gaping at her. It was also then that she remembered one of the many things they were supposed to never talk about in the presence of others: The identity of Arthur's girlfriend.

"Oh, right! Umm, just pretend you didn't hear that."

It was too late. The damage had been done.

* * *

Five seconds later…

* * *

Arthur and Yuno were abruptly interrupted by a very familiar and vocal "No way!"

Turning to the door, Arthur frowned. "I'm almost scared to ask what that's about."

Granted, he didn't have to ask. The door slammed open as Weiss and Yang both dashed into the room.

"Arthur, is it true?"

"You were serious when you said you were dating THE Yuno Ashihara?"

Arthur sat there dumbstruck for a second, though he did recover enough to glare out the door, where his team along with Ruby and Blake looked very sheepish.

Yuno's response was slightly different. "Arthur, who are these people?"

Arthur shook himself out of his glare. "Right. Ruby, Blake, the two of you might as well get in here so I can do introductions. Yuno, these are some friends I've made here at Beacon. That's Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long. Team RWBY, this is my girlfriend, Yuno Ashihara."

Yuno smiled. "A pleasure to meet you all."

"…"

"It really is her." Blake commented.

"Miss Yuno, I am a huge fan of yours. Could I perhaps ask for an autograph when we meet in person?"

"So… way to go, Arthur. How long has this been going on for?" Yang asked, a grin on her face.

Ruby was the only one not acting up, a confused look on her face before she thought of something. "Oh, that's right! Isn't she one of Pyrrha's favorite artists? I gotta go tell her!"

"Wait, Ruby!" Too late, Ruby was already out the door, rose petals floating down to the ground in her wake.

Arthur sighed. "Alright, all of you get out now. Shoo. Skedaddle. Don't tell anyone else this information. And if Ruby so much as mentions this to anyway not in Team JNPR, I will find a way to prank her."

After that, Arthur slammed the door shut before planting his face into the desk. "That was not how I wanted introductions to go."

Yuno seemed to be holding back a giggle. "They're certainly a lively bunch."

"I'm not sure you could call Blake 'lively', but yeah, the rest of them are." Arthur agreed. "I swear, if this goes public in the next few days, I am going to unleash an army of spiders in Team RWBY's room."

* * *

"Yuno Ashihara is your girlfriend?!" Pyrrha was the next one at their door. And only ten minutes after Ruby had dashed off.

Arthur sighed in exasperation. _This is why I didn't want to tell anyone_. "Yes, Pyrrha. Yuno Ashihara, idol extraordinaire and philanthropist, is my girlfriend. Please don't tell anyone else. I promise I'll get you an autographed album."

In all the time he had known Pyrrha, Arthur had never known her to squeal. And she did just that.

Contrary to popular belief, the first time Arthur and Pyrrha was not at their first meeting in the Mistral Regional Tournament. Rather, they had met was when they were only three years old. Their mothers were good friends as well as teammates, having won the Vytal Festival their first year. It was during a team reunion that they had met, though Arthur had hid behind his mother's leg while Pyrrha looked around, inquisitive before her eyes locked on Arthur.

Unfortunately for the both of them, Pyrrha's mother, Thetis Nikos, had to leave at that moment, so they wouldn't be acquainted with each other for another ten years, when they finally met at the Mistral Regional Tournament.

"Really? That would be lovely!"

"Right, then. Anything else you want? I doubt you came here just to ask for an autograph."

Pyrrha provided her proposal. Her recipient was not amused.

"So, let me get this straight. You want me to teach Jaune some ways of manipulating his aura through the Visconti Sword School."

"That's right." Pyrrha nodded.

Arthur was incredulous. "Jaune as in Jaune Arc? One of the clumsiest guys that we have here in Beacon?"

"I think that's actually you, Arthur." Pyrrha pointed out, citing his multiple falls throughout their time here at Beacon.

"Only in everyday life. Not on the battlefield" Team ACGN's leader countered. "Besides, he wouldn't be able to handle it. He doesn't even have the proper form to fight with. The Visconti Sword school is an advanced school. You don't start taking lessons until you have your basics down at some other preliminary school."

Pyrrha had her response ready. "You leave teaching basic form to me. I just need you to teach him how to manipulate his aura. Which he does have a lot of. Visconti Swordsmanship does put emphasis on using aura, doesn't it?"

Arthur relaxed a bit. "Now that, I can do. Let's see… if this is Jaune we're talking about, I suppose I could teach him how to use Misty Moon. Or maybe Sonic Caliber. If he does well with that I can probably have him transition to Arc Caliber— yes that's the name of the technique. I know it's funny." He rolled his eyes in response to Pyrrha's laugh. "We're going to have to teach him to utilize dust as well. If he's going to keep using his weapon, he should probably get an upgrade for it."

"I appreciate it, Arthur. Do you mind if I come and watch?"

"You could, but Visconti techniques don't fit the way you fight. At the very least, let him do the first couple lessons by himself so it doesn't feel like you're babying him. You can come to any one after that."

Pyrrha nodded. "That's fair."

* * *

If there was one thing that Team ACGN wasn't expecting in their day, it was to be visited by Professor Ozpin. Arthur didn't know about it, seeing as he had gone to sparring with Pyrrha once again.

"Can we do anything for you, Professor?" Ciel asked the headmaster who had just walked in. "Arthur's out at the moment."

The man nodded. "I did, in fact. I wanted to ask you all something about your leader, if you don't mind."

That got their attention, as faces were suddenly very guarded. "What in particular?" Gil asked, eyes narrowed.

Ozpin sighed. "Nothing out of the ordinary. I just want to know: Is your leader aware of his powers? I don't mean his Semblance. I mean his other power."

Of all the things that were to be asked, no one on Team _CGN expected that question. Especially since it was only a secret only they knew about. Not even Arthur knew about it, and it had to do with him.

"How do you—" Nana was at a loss for words. "No one else should know about it."

Ozpin raised his eyebrows. "I'm surprised you people know about it as well. I only happen to know about it because I know about the greater intricacies of Evoke."

That got everyone's attention. "You mean that was a result of his Semblance?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes. Rest assured, I don't intend to do anything about it. I'm curious, how do you know about his abilities? I didn't expect to get an actual response out of you people." Ozpin raised his eyebrows, expecting an answer.

Team _CGN looked at each other for a bit before Gil turned to the headmaster. "Here's how we know…"

* * *

Five years ago…

* * *

" _We need to move, now!" Arthur shouted._

 _The fresh team of God Eaters was on the run, trying to avoid the mess that was the army of Grimm chasing them. It was the early days of their formation, and they had been dropped into the middle of a forest chock-full of Grimm. Even though there were enemies there and only Ciel had a God Arc at the time, things were expected to go well._

 _It would have been an easy mission for them, seeing as it was just an extermination mission where they were to learn the ropes of being huntsmen, but the presence of multiple Death Stalkers changed things immensely. What was originally a simple extermination had turned into a run-for-your-lives situation._

" _No one told us about the Death Stalkers." Nana complained as she ran along._

" _There's nothing we can do about that now. Just focus on getting to the rendezvous point!" Ciel shouted._

 _That was when things when wrong._

 _Ciel tripped on a branch as she slid under a log, falling forward and hitting her head on a tree. She would have gotten up right away, but her foot got stuck._

 _Normally, it wouldn't have been a problem, but the army of Grimm suggested otherwise. Especially when the largest Death Stalker of the group decided that the tasty little eleven-year old girl was going to be its first target._

" _Ciel!" Everyone shouted as she struggled to get herself loose._

 _The three of them tried to get to their fellow God Eater when they were blocked off by a large group of Beowolves._

 _As the Death Stalker got closer, Ciel brought up her God Arc to defend herself, intercepting the stinger strikes of the scorpion Grimm. She did rather well for herself, until her grip slacked a bit and the God Arc was knocked out of her hands._

 _By that time, the group of Beowolves blocking the other God Eaters had been destroyed, with Arthur making a mad dash for his best friend. He was too far, though._

 _As the stinger descended one last time, Ciel closed her eyes, prepared for it to rip through her body. What she didn't prepare for was the sound of clang. As she opened her eyes, she saw Arthur standing between her and the Death Stalker, glowing a brilliant spectrum of colors, which made no sense to Ciel. Arthur's aura was yellow. Not white, not blue, and certainly not multi-colored._

 _With a shout, Arthur brought Glimmer down on the Death Stalker, cleaving it in half before going on a forest-wide Grimm murder spree. Only about three minute later, the entire forest was silent, with no Grimm in sight and an unconscious Arthur on the ground._

* * *

"I see." Professor Ozpin frowned. "How does he not know of it?"

"Dr. Rachel advised us not to tell him. She said that she didn't want to try and replicate something that happened over risky circumstances, and that it would be better if he didn't fixate himself on something that wasn't guaranteed to work."

The headmaster nodded. "I see. If it does happen again, please keep me informed."

Nana looked at Ciel after the professor left. "Should we really?"

"No. We don't know why he came here, but I doubt it was because he was just curious." Gil scowled. "If he wants Arthur, he's getting through us first."

Ciel nodded in agreement, a fire in her eyes. One thing was clear to them, though. Professor Ozpin was not to be trusted.

* * *

Today's sparring class ended up being an interesting one, as Professor Goodwitch decided to make some unusual matchups.

"Could I get Sky Lark and Gilbert McLane to come down, please?"

Gil raised an eyebrow at the request, as Arthur patted him on the back. "Of course, I'll be down in a bit."

"Spear against halberd? This should be an interesting fight." Weiss looked with interest.

"It's not going to be." Arthur disagreed. He knew his team, after all.

Everyone started chattering. This was a new development for them, as almost none of them had personally seen a God Eater in action. While there was footage from previous Vytal Festivals of God Eaters destroying the competition, it wouldn't be the same as seeing it in person. Out of everyone in the crowd, only Pyrrha had gotten to see a God Eater consistently in action, and that was because she sparred with Arthur almost every other day.

When Gilbert got down to the stage, he stretched before adjusting his cap, using it to keep his hair out of his eyes. "Hey, Arthur! Any way you want me to do this?"

"Up to you, Gil!" Arthur hollered back.

Gil nodded before widening his stance, holding his God Arc in such a way that he could easily use either a slicing motion or a stab.

"Ready? Begin!" Professor Goodwitch called.

No one expected Gil to jump into the air and stab downward, with the Charge Spear increasing the power of his strike. Sky got out of the way, but he wasn't fast enough to respond to Gilbert using his God Arc to spin himself around and kick the halberd out of his hand.

What resulted afterwards needed no words, as Gil completely destroyed the L of Team CRDL.

"That's the match." Professor Goodwitch called. "Mr. Lark, please remember to be flexible in your thinking. Being disarmed early into the fighting means that you need to adapt quickly to the situation."

Sky nodded, shocked at how handily he'd been defeated.

"An excellent showing from you, Mr. McLane. You made great use of your weapon and kept Mr. Lark from reaching his. Your flexible thinking is especially important when you fight. However, you should keep in mind that your unorthodoxy may not have the same effect on someone more skilled."

"Thank you, Professor." Gil had the presence of mind to not mention how weak Sky was as an opponent. After facing off against the likes of Arthur countless times, he was used to difficult opponents.

Professor Goodwitch turned back to the class. "Now then, we have time for some more matches. Could I please have Pyrrha Nikos and Arthur Visconti come down to the stage?"

A murmur broke through the students as the names were mentioned. Everyone was excited at the prospect of seeing expert fighters going head to head. At least until both Mistral Regional Tournament participants spoke up.

"Professor, I would like to object." Pyrrha was the first to speak up.

That brought out a wave of confusion. "And why is that, Miss Nikos?"

Arthur spoke up next. "Well, there's a good chance that the fight will go past the bell. We haven't had a fight that ever lasted less than twenty minutes."

Professor Goodwitch frowned. "I see. Very well then, I'll reschedule your fight for later, though I expect nothing less than the best from both of you."

They both bowed. "Thank you, Professor."

"That said, Mr. Visconti, you're still up. You'll be going up against Miss Rose for the next fight."

Arthur's eyes were raised a bit before shrugging and heading down to the stage with Songbird. Nearby, Ruby's eyes were sparkling with excitement. She was going to get a fight with a God Eater. This was going to be the best day of her life.

"Go get him, Rubes!" Yang cheered.

"You got this, Arthur!" Nana shouted.

As Arthur and Ruby assumed their positions, Arthur couldn't resist a bit of friendly banter. "I really hope your sister isn't going to beat me up after this."

"Uhh, what?" Ruby asked, confused.

Arthur shrugged. "I'll be honest, I'm still a bit salty over how your team barged into my room yesterday, so I'll be taking it out on you."

Ruby looked a bit nervous now. "Umm… sorry?"

"Ready? Begin!"

Arthur gave Ruby no chance to respond, instantly switching to his Blast Cannon and launching some rounds at Ruby, who had to dodge them.

"Arthur's going to win." Ciel said.

The rest of Team RWBY turned to her, confused at her confidence. "Why is that? He's never faced Ruby before, and almost everyone is familiar with Arthur's fighting style from all the times he's fought Pyrrha." Weiss was cross.

Pyrrha shook her head. "No one's seen Arthur fight with his God Arc before. Even if that was the case, what makes Arthur so dangerous as a fighter isn't just his skill with the sword. It's his talent for psychological warfare."

"Psychological warfare?" Everyone voiced their confusion.

"It's one of Arthur's gifts. He's good at reading people, so he knows the best ways to throw them off mentally." Gil explained. "He doesn't use it when fighting against someone like Pyrrha though, since she's used to it."

"It almost worked the first time we fought." Pyrrha admitted. "Had I not used my Semblance when he disarmed me, he would have won the fight."

Blake was curious. "How does he do it?"

"Well, Arthur's strategy is to set off his opponent, whether by getting them excited, angry, or confused. The stronger your emotions, the more likely you are to have your judgement clouded. In this case, I think Ruby's either extra confused or excited. Coupled with his ability to feint like an expert, it makes Arthur difficult to read." Pyrrha noted.

Team RWBY turned back to the fight, a bit of trepidation on their faces as Arthur continued his onslaught of bullets.

Ruby saw an opening in said onslaught and rushed Arthur, scythe coming down to strike, though with limited success.

Arthur had noticed the change in pace before Ruby even started moving, and by the time she got close enough to him, he had activated the shield on his God Arc before immediately transitioning back into his blade mode to intercept Ruby's attacks. During this time, he began making his assessment of Ruby's fighting style.

 _She's fast… faster than Livie, that's for sure. Almost as skilled as well. Certainly a lot more aggressive as well, considering Livie's conservative fighting style. She doesn't seem to have as much experience going up against human opponents, though she's making really good use of her range. Could probably make better use of attacking from different directions, though. It's unusual seeing someone else so skilled with a scythe. And red to boot as well. If I didn't know any better, I'd say Livie has a fan._

Arthur's thoughts were interrupted when Ruby spun her scythe in a circle before throwing it in a downward angle at him. As he leaped back, Ruby activated her Semblance, grabbing her scythe and getting behind Arthur, Crescent Rose aimed at him.

The moment she pulled the trigger, Arthur spun around, making a slashing motion with his God Arc that created a barrier (Barrier Slide), blocking the bullets that Ruby fired before he channeled aura into his feet and God Arc, launching himself forward and slashing at the same time at a speed that almost rivalled Ruby's Semblance (Crashing Wave Cut). Ruby had no time to react as Arthur's attack knocked Crescent Rose out of her hand, embedding it in a wall.

Ruby panicked, seeing as Crescent Rose was her only way to fight. Fortunately for her, Arthur seemed to be doing something else, with his eyes closed and God Arc raised up, both hands on it.

"Wait, why is Arthur using Falling Petal?!" Nana looked shocked.

"This isn't like him." Ciel's confusion was palpable.

"Oi, Arthur! What are you doing?" Gil shouted.

"Falling Petal?" Weiss asked.

Ciel answered her. "Falling Petal is Arthur's single most devastating technique. It's strong enough to split a Sinensis in half."

"Wait, what? That could kill Ruby!" Yang looked like she was about to jump in when Gil grabbed her arm.

"It has a huge fallback. The charge time is incredibly long, so he has to stand still as he gathers his aura into the blade."

Having heard this, Ruby grinned, once again using her Semblance to grab Crescent Rose before rushing in for the winning strike.

That was when Arthur's eyes opened, and he brought down his God Arc. Ruby saw it coming and dodged to Arthur's left and swinging her scythe at Arthur for the winning strike.

Unfortunately, Arthur had been playing her. He quickly raised his arm and activated the shield on his God Arc instantaneously, blocking Ruby's strike with the blade pointed downward before swinging the weapon around in an uppercut that sent Ruby flying into the air she crashed into the ground. The pillar of aura that accompanied it was just as terrifying to see.

"Ruby!" Yang shouted, scared for her sister. It didn't help that the aura counter on-screen showed that Ruby's aura was at five percent.

Much to the blonde brawler's relief, Ruby let out a groan. "Ow…"

"And that's the match." Professor Goodwitch called. "That was rather impressive, Mr. Visconti, though I would recommend you make your feints less obvious. Miss Rose, try not to fall for baits such as the one Mr. Visconti presented."

"Got it…"

"It's still a work in progress." Arthur shrugged before walking over to Ruby, hand extended to help her up. "Thanks for being the guinea pig for that technique, by the way."

Ciel let out a sigh of relief. "That was reckless of him to try that technique."

"What was that? I've never seen him use that before." Even Pyrrha was curious, and she had fought him countless times.

"That was Raging Counter, one of the strongest defensive techniques of the Visconti Sword School." Gil explained. "Arthur charges up as much aura as he can into his weapon before blocking an attack and retaliating with an uppercut that devastates the opponent. I never thought I'd see him use it in a sparring fight."

"It's a recently invented technique that's meant to be used in conjunction with a God Arc. One of the members of Team SKAY developed it over their last break." Ciel explained.

That brought up another important question. "Does every God Eater learn from the Visconti Sword School?" Pyrrha asked.

"Yes and no." Arthur explained as he came up. "While it's called a sword school, Visconti techniques can really be applied to any weapon, so long as you understand how to shape your aura. Anyways, I'm beat, so I'll be taking a quick nap. Wake me up if Professor Goodwitch looks my direction."

Gil sighed. "And just like that, Arthur's back to sleeping. And here I thought becoming more responsible would change his habits. It's like he expends all his energy on purpose so he can have an excuse to take a nap."

That reminded Pyrrha, she needed to inform Jaune of recent updates in his quest to get stronger.

* * *

"Training with Arthur?" Jaune was a bit shocked when he and Pyrrha began their lessons that night.

"Why not? He's willing to help. Plus, I'm pretty sure he can teach you something that'll complement your fighting style. While I can teach you aura manipulation, members of the Visconti family are the undisputed masters of it."

Jaune gulped. While it was more in good nature now, Arthur's threat of precise castration still hung in the air. "Are we sure you can't do it yourself? Or maybe find someone else?"

Pyrrha frowned. "Do you want the best teacher?"

"Huh? Yeah, of course."

"Then you should train with Arthur. He's the best at aura manipulation for a reason."

Jaune looked contemplative for a moment before nodding. "I'll give it a try. When's the first lesson?"

"This Saturday."

* * *

"Good, you're here." Arthur said, the two of them standing in a sparring arena.

Jaune chuckled nervously. "Yeah. Pyrrha talked me into it. You're not going to bash me with your God Arc, are you?"

Arthur laughed. "No, no. I don't even have my God Arc with me right now. But honestly, do you think I started learning to fight with a God Arc right away?"

"I never really thought about it." Jaune admitted.

Jaune watched as Arthur pulled out Glimmer before sending out a Sonic Caliber with it and decapitating a dummy. "Visconti swordsmanship is all about manipulating aura. God Arcs just make it easier on us because we can restore aura that we use while we fight. Fortunately, given how much aura you have, there won't be that much of a worry about you overexerting yourself."

"Huh. Pyrrha told me that you could probably teach me something that would complement my fighting style."

"Smart of her. Make no mistake, Pyrrha's a good teacher. But one person can only teach you so much." Arthur took a stance. "First things first, I need you to show me what you can do."

Jaune sighed before pulling out Crocea Mars, ready for the one-sided beating about to happen.

"By the way, your eyes look quite dazzling."

That threw Jaune off balance. "Wha-?"

The poor guy didn't last five seconds.

"Alright, clearly your mental state could use some work if that's all it takes to get your guard down." Arthur said with a chuckle.

"Not fair…" Jaune groaned.

Arthur raised his eyebrow. "All's fair in love and war. Keep that in mind. Someone may try to disorient you by clouding your mind. And if you're up against a Grimm that looks intimidating, the worst thing you can do is let its appearance get to you. The most important thing to remember in a fight is keeping a cool head. If you don't, you leave a lot of openings. Now, let's try that again."

"Right…"

After said beating which lasted fifteen seconds, Arthur pulled Jaune up to his feet. "Well, that went better than expected."

"Really?" Jaune was sarcastic.

"Ciel compiled some data and predicted you would last about ten seconds tops against me. That was a good fifteen seconds, which is pretty impressive."

Jaune looked a bit sheepish at the compliment. "You're serious about that?"

Arthur nodded. "Pyrrha trained the basics into you really well, even though it's only been a couple days. We can go directly into aura manipulation, as well as which techniques will make best use of your aura."

"Urgh… so where do we start?"

Arthur thought for a second. "I think we'll start with Misty Moon to help you increase your reach. From there, I'll figure out how you can transition on into different arts."

Walking up to a dummy, Arthur stood a distance away before taking a swing, making sure to stop at maximum range to show that the dummy was out of his range. He then took another swing, with another blade of aura extending from the blade to decapitate the dummy.

Jaune was mesmerized. "How do you do that?"

Arthur chuckled. "The explanation is pretty simple, really. I project my aura through my weapon. From there, it's simply a matter of deciding if I should either project out the aura as an attack or use it to bolster my own strikes. Granted, it's easier said than done, but given your mindset and how fast the basics got drilled into you, you can probably learn it with a bit of time."

"Quick question."

"Yeah?"

Jaune seemed hesitant. "Who named these techniques?"

Arthur shrugged. "Matteo Visconti. The founder of the school. He also had a bunch of split personalities, which led to a bunch of different names for techniques. Even then, the names are accumulated over time. Each member of the school creates their own technique and adds it to the repertoire. But enough of that, let's start with Misty Moon."

Jaune took to the lesson with great enthusiasm, absorbing in all he could learn about aura manipulation. It was when they got to hitting the dummy that Jaune found out exactly how evil of a teacher Arthur was.

After the fifth attempt, Jaune took a breath. "This is difficult."

Arthur raised his eyebrow. "What did you expect? Visconti Swordsmanship was meant to be learned after mastering the sword. What you're trying to do is incorporate it into your style, which is rather incomplete at the moment. Now, remember how I usually perform a technique after running my hand along the blade?"

Jaune nodded. He'd watched one of their spars before. "Yeah. Pyrrha said that you don't actually need to do that, do you?"

Arthur nodded. "I don't. However, it does make it easier at first to channel your aura if you use one hand to shape it while the other hand holds the sword. Not to mention if you can transition into using one hand, you can trick people into thinking you have to run your hand down the blade each time before you strike, potentially creating an opening. There are some techniques where it's pretty much mandatory due to how powerful or precise the technique might be, but we're not going to bother learning that for a long time."

"But I fight with a shield." Jaune pointed out.

"So? Your shield is attached to your wrist, not your hand. Sure, it's more stable if you hold onto it, but if you're setting up to strike, you can take a moment to run your hand down your blade and channel aura into it. Go ahead and give it a try."

The slash that Jaune unleashed left a small mark on the dummy, which left Arthur with a smile. "Well done. Now, keep on focusing your aura until you can get a sizable mark in the dummy."

About thirty minutes later, Jaune finally succeeded, creating a sizable gash in the dummy. He pumped his fist up. "Yes!"

"Great! Now, keep doing that until you either can't lift your arm anymore or you run out of aura."

Jaune turned to Arthur, suddenly horrified. "W-what?"

Arthur raised his eyebrow. "What, you think doing it once means it's perfect? I want you to keep doing it until you have the technique completely drilled into your muscle."

"Did you know that I'm starting to hate you, Arthur?"

"Trust me, you'll thank me later."

"I doubt it." Jaune muttered under his breath.

He thanked him later.

* * *

 **There is some sweet, sweet irony in the fact that this is where I wanted to end the last chapter. Honestly though, I'm glad I didn't, seeing what I've added in this time around. (I can't imagine having a 10k+ chapter). Quick note, I suck at writing fight scenes, which is something I'm trying to improve on.**

 **I have a bunch of ideas floating around in my head, some of which are set in stone. I have never been so glad that I wrote down what was on my mind. It's let me think things through more clearly.**

 **Anyways, like I mentioned above, brownie points to anyone who figures out the members of Team JRWL and SKAY. Also, extra brownie points for anyone who may have noticed something a bit on the more subtle side.**

 **Here's the next profile.**

* * *

 **Name: Solei Visconti**

 **Age: 33 (at time of death)**

 **Eye Color: Green**

 **Hair Color: Dark Blond**

 **Color Theme: White**

 **Emblem: Spiked circle**

 **Height: 5'7**

 **Likes: Her children, teaching, lightning**

 **Dislikes: The dark, cooking, disobedient students, puns**

 **Equipment: Glimmer (hand-and-a-half sword)**

 **Semblance: Evoke**

 **Combat Description: The former master of the Visoconti Sword School, Solei Visconti was a swordswoman with almost no equal, with the only person that could match up to her being her partner at Haven Academy, Thetis Nikos (née Rowan).**

 **Trivia:**

 **The mother of Julius and Arthur Visconti**

 **Graduated from Haven Academy alongside her partner Thetis Nikos as members of Team SPRK (Spark)**

 **Was close friends with Rachel Claudius.**

 **Her husband, Plaid Iris, married into the Visconti family.**


End file.
